Effect of Deep Cryogenic Treatment on the Artificial Ageing Behavior of SiCp–AA2009 Composite

The effect of deep cryogenic treatment (DCT) on the artificial ageing kinetics of a SiC particles reinforced aluminum alloy composite (SiCp-Al) is experimentally studied in this paper. The evolutions of both macro-properties (i.e., yield strength and ultimate tensile strength) and microstructures (precipitates) have been investigated by a set of hardness tests, tensile tests, and microstructural observations (scanning electron microscope, SEM and transmission electron microscope, TEM) for a SiCp-Al composite material with conventional heat treatment (solution heat treatment + quenching + artificial ageing, CHT) or DCT (solution heat treatment + quenching + deep cryogenic + artificial ageing). The results show that SiCp could significantly accelerate the ageing kinetics of the composites. Meanwhile, compared with CHT conditions, DCT can further improve the yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the composite materials after artificial ageing. The microstructures show that DCT induces the generation of more thinner θ′ precipitates homogeneously distributed in the grains during artificial ageing compared with corresponding CHT conditions. A quantified analysis has been performed based on the microstructural data, and the calculated results further support the indication that the strengthening effect in DCT compared with CHT is mainly contributed by corresponding precipitation behavior