Effect of SiC addition on microstructure and properties of Al–Mg alloy fabricated by powder and wire cold metal transfer process

Adding heterogeneous nucleation refiners is an effective route to obtain fine grained microstructure. To investigate effect of silicon carbide (SiC) particles on mechanical properties of Al–Mg alloy, metallic matrix composites (MMCs) were fabricated by an innovative powder and wire cold metal transfer (CMT) process with enhanced mechanical properties. Microstructure evolution, grain orientation and mechanical properties of CMT processed MMCs reinforced by SiC particles at different concentrations were discussed. The mechanical properties of Al–Mg alloy reached the highest tensile strength of 325.6 ± 16 MPa by addition of SiC particles with a volume fraction of 8% and an average grain diameter of 49.1 μm. This research provided a novel, time-saving, low-cost approach to fabricate Al–Mg composites and expands application of Al–Mg alloy.