Microstructural Characterization and Mechanical Properties of VB2/A390 Composite Alloy

In this work, we make the best use of the vanadium element; a series of Al-V-B alloys and VB2/A390 composite alloys were fabricated. For Al-10V-6B alloy, the grain size of VB2 can be controlled within about 1 µm and is distributed uniformly in the Al matrix. Further, it can be found that VB2 promises to be a useful reinforcement particle for piston alloy. The addition of VB2 can improve the mechanical properties of the A390 composite alloys significantly. The results show that with 1% VB2 addition, A390 composite alloy exhibits the best performance. Compared with the A390 alloy, the coefficient of thermal expansion is 13.2 × 10−6 K−1, which decreased by 12.6%; the average Brinell hardness can reach 156.5HB, wear weight loss decreased by 28.9% and ultimate tensile strength at 25 °C (UTS25 °C) can reach 355 MPa, which increased by 36.5%.