High-strength and thermally stable Al-CeO2 composite produced by means of mechanical alloying

The effect of temperature on both mechanical and structural features of a new Al-based metallic composite reinforced with fine CeO2 particles was the primary objective of the research work. Mechanically alloyed Al-CeO2 composite was manufactured from high purity Al and CeO2 powders. The powders were milled under argon atmosphere and then consolidated using hot pressing, vacuum degassing and hot extrusion methods. Hot compression tests revealed high mechanical properties of the material, which were ascribed to the very fine-grained structure of the composite. Transmission electron microscopy observations were performed on as-extruded material and samples annealed at 773 K. It was found that the composite structure is relatively stable at 773 K in comparison to Al-based composites reinforced with other heavy-metal oxides reported in literature.