Effect of GNPs on microstructures and mechanical properties of GNPs/Al-Cu composites with different heat treatment status

Microstructural and mechanical behavior of heat treatable Al-4.6Cu binary alloy reinforced with graphene nanoplates (GNPs) in different heat treatment status were investigated in this paper. The addition of GNPs significantly enhanced the yield strength and tensile strength of Al-Cu alloy regardless of the heat treatment conditions. It was also found that GNPs accelerated the formation of precipitates, leading to a greatly shortened aging time for GNPs/Al-4.6Cu composite to reach the peak hardness. However, aging treatment enhanced the strength of GNPs/Al-Cu composite very little, which could be explained by the interaction between GNPs, precipitates and dislocations. This work inspires us that the heat treatment process of aluminum alloy matrix composites should be designed independently with the matrix in quest of an optimum performance. (c) 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Chinese Society for Metals.

Automated summary

The addition of graphene nanoplates significantly improved the strength of Al-Cu alloy, accelerated the formation of precipitates, but aging treatment had limited effect on strengthening the composite material.