Effect of TiC Content on Tensile Properties, Bend Strength, and Thermal Conductivity of Al-Li-Cu-Mg-Zr Alloy/TiC Composites Produced by Accumulative Roll Bonding

Composite strips based on an Al-Li-Cu-Mg-Zr alloy reinforced with titanium–carbide (TiC) microparticles were manufactured through the accumulative roll bonding (ARB) process. The microstructure, mechanical and thermal conductivity properties of the processed composites have been experimentally investigated and compared with the as-hot-rolled and un-reinforced states. The microstructure of the reinforced sheets shows the excellent reinforcement’s dispersion after the second ARB cycle. In addition, the obtained results indicate that the overall properties of the ARBed strips are enhanced by increasing the TiC content up to 2 wt.%. The processed sheets reinforced with 2 wt.% TiC after two ARB cycles present the superior comprehensive combination of the grain refining, good bonding and proper particle dispersions to reach the outstanding tensile, bending and specific strengths, appropriate tensile elongation and thermal conductivity. Herein, the tensile and bending strengths reach 380.79 and 623.69 MPa, respectively, which are considerably higher than 260.14 and 438.35 MPa, 322.34 and 528.67 MPa of the as-hot-rolled and the un-reinforced sheets after the same cycle, respectively. Moreover, the fracture morphologies of the processed strips exhibit a ductile-shear mixed fracture responding to good elongations of the specimens.