Effects of soft phase on the mechanical behaviors of hierarchical Mg nanocomposites

The magnesium matrix nanocomposites (10 vol% and 15 vol% of SiC particles) with a hierarchical structure, which contained flake-like soft phases, were investigated by compression and modeling. Fortunately, the unique malleability of hierarchical Mg nanocomposites was observed. The fracture surfaces indicated that the hierarchical Mg nanocomposites demonstrated ductile rupture. The “pull-out” phenomenon on the fracture surfaces suggested that the flake-like soft phase could sustain the additional deformation, consequently improving the malleability of Mg nanocomposites. Additionally, the modeling demonstrated that the effects from soft phase were not negligible, where the modified model exhibited a better agreement on the yield strength of the hierarchical Mg nanocomposites.