Effect of hybridizing micron-sized Ti with nano-sized SiC on the microstructural evolution and mechanical response of Mg–5.6Ti composite

• Mg-hybrid composites with micro-Ti and nano-SiC are developed.
• Nano-SiC addition promoted localized DRX, and improved interfacial bonding.
• Both Mg–5.6Ti and Mg–(5.6Ti + x-SiC)BM composites showed similar texture.
• The hybrid composites exhibited improved strength with retained ductility.
• The best properties of strength and ductility were observed in Mg–(5.6Ti + 1.0SiC)BM.

In this work, the effect of hybridizing micro-Ti with nano-SiC particulates on the microstructural and the mechanical behaviour of Mg–5.6Ti composite were investigated. Mg materials containing micron-sized Ti particulates hybridized with different amounts of nano-size SiC particulates were synthesized using the disintegrated melt deposition method followed by hot extrusion. The microstructural and mechanical behaviour of the developed Mg hybrid composites were studied in comparison with Mg–5.6Ti. Microstructural characterization revealed grain refinement attributed to the presence of uniformly distributed micro-Ti particles embedded with nano-SiC particulates. Electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) analyses of Mg–(5.6Ti + 1.0SiC)BM hybrid composite showed relatively more localized recrystallized grains and lesser tensile twin fraction, when compared to Mg–5.6Ti. The evaluation of mechanical properties indicated that the best combination of strength and ductility was observed in the Mg–(5.6Ti + 1.0SiC)BM hybrid composites. The superior strength properties of the Mg–(5.6Ti + x-SiC)BM hybrid composites when compared to Mg–5.6Ti is attributed to the presence of nano-reinforcements, the uniform distribution of the hybridized particles and the better interfacial bonding between the matrix and the reinforcement particles, achieved by nano-SiC addition.