Micromechanical simulation on strength and ductility of two kinds of Al-based nanostructural materials

The nanostructured Al-based composites possess the combination of high yield strength and good ductility. In this paper, a micromechanical model is presented to simulate the mechanical response of bimodal nanostructured Al and the particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composite (PAMC). The constitutive relations for different phases are addressed in the model, as well as the contribution of microcracks. Numerical results show that the model can successfully describe the enhanced strength and ductility of the bimodal nanostructured Al, and the predictions of the PAMC are in good agreement with the experimental data. It is worth noting that the strength and ductility are sensitive to the volume fraction of constituents and the distribution of microcracks in both bimodal nanostructured Al and PAMC. Therefore, the present theoretical results can be used to optimize the microstructure for improving the mechanical properties of nanostructured Al-based composites.