Remarkable enhancement in precipitation hardening of Al7Si1.7Cu alloy by high pressure solution treatment

High pressure solution treatment was applied to prepare Al7Si1.7Cu solid solution which shows fast and considerable age-hardening response. The extraordinarily high peak hardness of the alloy (~ 170 HV) is attributed to the combined strengthening effect of the homogeneously distributed nanoscale Si and θ''/θ' precipitates.