A plastic-yield compaction model for nanostructured Al6063 alloy and Al6063/Al2O3 nanocomposite powder

A modified plastic yield function is proposed to predict the consolidation behavior of nanostructured metal powders and metal-matrix nanocomposite powders under uniaxial compaction. The validity of the model is verified for nanocrystalline Al6063 (~ 100 nm) alloy reinforced without and with 0.8 vol.% Al2O3 nanoparticles (~ 25 nm). The plastic deformation propensity of these powders is analyzed by linear compaction equations. The yield stress of the powder compacts is shown to be influenced by the nano-scale grains and the reinforcement nanoparticles.

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► A new model is proposed to study the compressibility of nanostructured/nanocomposite powders.
► The model prediction is in good agreement with experiments, although it overestimates the density of coarse-grained powders at high pressures.
► The yield stress of Al6063 compacts with nanostructured features (reinforced with and without nanoparticles) is reported.