Properties of high specific strength Al–4 wt.% Al2O3/B4C nano-composite produced by accumulative roll bonding process

•The Al/Al2O3–B4C nano-composite was successfully produced via the ARB process.•The specific strength of the composite samples is higher than that of the pure Al.•The density of the ARBed materials is lower than that of as received pure Al.

The influence of nano-scale reinforcement on the mechanical and microstructural properties of ultrafine-grained composites was studied. Al matrix (pure aluminum) composites, with a grain size of 230 nm and B4C and Al2O3 reinforcements with an average size of 50 nm, were fabricated via the accumulative roll bonding (ARB) process. To evaluate structure and microstructure of the produced composites, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were applied. Mechanical properties of the specimens were investigated by tensile and hardness tests. The result revealed that in comparison with monolithic Al (ARBed Al without ceramic particles), the presence of nano-particles enhances specific strength of composites. Also, the results showed that with increasing ARB cycles, the microhardness of the composites increases. In addition, the specific strength and microhardness of the composite samples are higher than those of the monolithic Al. The density of the composite samples and monolithic Al was measured by the Archimedes method showing that the density decreases in presence of ceramic particles.