Effect of heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical property of extruded 7090/SiCp composite

The ultra high strength SiC particles (SiCp) reinforced Al-10%Zn-3.6%Mg-1.8%Cu-0.36%Zr-0.15% Ni composite was prepared by spray co-deposition. Microstructures of the extruded and different heat-treated bars were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Grain size of the composites prepared by two-stage solution is smaller than that by single-stage solution. After single-stage solution aging treatment, fine precipitates of both η and AlZnMgCu-rich phase can be found both intragranularly and intergranularly. While after the two-stage solution, an amorphous Si-Cu-Al-O (5 nm) layer appears at the interface. The addition of Ni and Zr modified the influence of the two-stage solution and inhibited the growth of the 7090/SiCp composite grain size. Heat treatments can significantly improve the fracture toughness of the composite. The fracture toughness first decreases then increases with the elongation of the aging time.