Novel Grain Boundary Solute Architecture in a Nanostructured Ultra-High Strength 7075 Aluminium Alloy

Abstract:

In recent years, the pursuit of higher strength metals and alloys has led researchers to nanometer scale grain refinement. New nanocrystalline engineering techniques have successfully increased properties for a wide range of materials. Here we report a nanocrystalline 7075 alloy processed by high-pressure torsion that exhibits ultra-high strength and features a hierarchical solute architecture. The new hierarchy of solute architecture was discovered through high-resolution characterisation using novel techniques we have developed in atom probe tomography. These new techniques – nanotexture and fine scale solute cluster measurements, are the focus of this paper. Our results indicate that nanometer-scale engineering of solid solutions could offer a pathway towards a new generation of super-strong alloys that hold promise for creating entirely new regimes of property-performance space.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volumes 618-619)
• Pages: 543-546
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.618-619.543
• Online since: April 2009
• Authors: Peter V. Liddicoat, Xiao Zhou Liao, Simon P. Ringer
• Keywords: Aluminium Alloy, Grain Boundary, High Strength Metal, Nanometer-Scale Engineering

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