Institute of Advanced Studies, Key Laboratory of Near Net Forming of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang University; Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Centre for Advanced Structural Materials, City University of Hong Kong
Surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) can overcome the shortcomings of the surface properties of aluminum, improve the overall performance of the material, and prolong service life, therefore, this work was carried out on 5182 aluminum alloys subjected to SMAT. Using X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-hardness and uniaxial tensile test equipment systems, the authors study the characteristics of microstructure and mechanical properties of 5182 aluminum alloys with different grain sizes after SMAT. The surface grain of the 5182 aluminum alloy was refined to nanoscale after SMAT, and the gradient nanostructure was formed from the surface to the core of the sample; the overall hardness of the sample had a certain increase and it decreased in a gradient trend from the surface to the core; the tensile strength and yield strength of the 5182 aluminum alloy were increased, but the plasticity was sacrificed to a certain extent with the increase of the treatment time.