Effects of heat treatment on the microstructural evolution and creep resistance of Elektron21 alloy and its nanocomposite

Abstract

In previously published research, creep resistance of commercial alloy Elektron21 (El21) and El21 + 1% AlN/Al nanocomposite were predominantly investigated in as-cast condition, little work focused on creep resistance following heat treatment. In this work, El21 and its nanocomposite with and without T6 treatment (520 °C for 8 h and 200 °C for 16 h) were prepared to reveal the influence of heat treatment on their microstructural evolutions and creep properties. Different intermetallic particles and precipitates that formed in El21 and El21 + 1% AlN/Al with different states were characterized using optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Creep tests were performed over a stress range of 80–140 MPa at 240 °C. Creep results showed that the application of T6 treatment could improve the creep resistance of El21, but deteriorate that of El21 + 1% AlN/Al. This is attributed to the reduced amount of γ'' and β′ precipitates in El21 + 1% AlN/Al (T6) after ageing, resulting from the formation of plate-like Al2(Nd, Gd) (Al2RE) precipitates. It is also found that after T6 heat treatment, El21 (T6) had a lower minimum creep rate with a shorter duration of secondary creep stage than El21 + 1% AlN/Al (T6) at high creep temperatures due to the overageing of precipitates and the thermal stability of the Al2RE particles. El21 + 1% AlN/Al nanocomposites, either in the as-cast or T6 condition, show a much longer duration of secondary creep than NP-free El21. The responsible mechanism was attributed to the addition of AlN NPs and the formation of particulate/plate Al2RE phase.