Mechanical properties, bond strength and microstructural evolution of AA1060/TiO2 composites fabricated by warm accumulative roll bonding (WARB)

In the present study, aluminum metal matrix composites reinforced with 5 % volume fraction of TiO particles were manufactured via warm accumulative roll bonding (WARB). The mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of composites fabricated by 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 cycles of WARB were studied with application of tensile, peeling, and Vickers micro-hardness tests. Microstructural evolution during ARB cycles led to improvement of the strength and elongation properties of the samples. According to the results, uniform distribution of TiO clusters improved both the strength and tensile toughness of the composites. Finally, introduction of TiO particles into the Al matrix via WARB would allow fabricating particle-reinforced Al alloy with high uniformity and significantly enhance the mechanical properties and bond strength. Moreover, after the tensile and peeling tests, the fracture and peeling surfaces of the samples were studied at various WARB cycles using scanning electron microscopy.