Manufacturing of the aluminum metal-matrix composite reinforced with micro- and nanoparticles of TiO₂ through accumulative roll bonding process (ARB)

The aluminum metal-matrix composites reinforced with the micro- and nanoparticles of TiO₂ were manufactured in the form of sheets through the accumulative roll bonding (ARB) process which has been lately considered as a novel method under an intense plastic deformation so as to produce particulate-reinforced metal-matrix composites. The microstructural examinations via optic microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) depict that the distribution of TiO₂ particles in the aluminum matrix is almost uniform and also the dispersion of the microparticles of TiO₂ is more homogeneous than that of the nanoparticles one. Furthermore, the tensile tests demonstrate the noteworthy enhancements in the tensile strengths of the composites, compared to the Al 1100 as the virgin metal, however, by attenuating the size of the particles, i.e. from micron to nano, the composite tensile strengths are augmented. The fractographic analysis of the fracture surfaces revealed that the fracture mode in the ARB-processed Al/TiO₂ composite is the shear ductile rupture type.