Nanostructured Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy synthesized by cryomilling and spark plasma sintering

Nanocrystallized Al-10.0%Zn-3.0%Mg-1.8%Cu (mass fraction) alloy powder was prepared by cryomilling, and then the nanostructured powder was consolidated into bulk material by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The microstructural evolution and phase transformation were studied. A supersaturated face-centered cubic solid solution is formed after cryomilling for 10 h, and the average grain size is 28 nm. Two typical nanostructures of the bulk nanostructured alloy are observed: primarily equiaxed grains with size of 150 nm, and occasionally occurring sub-micron grains up to 500 nm. Two types of MgZn2 particles precipitate during consolidation. One is the sub-micron particles distributed along the boundaries of the powders, and the other is fine particles with size of several nanometers in the matrix, especially at the boundaries of sub-micron grains. These second phase particles can be completely dissolved into matrix by proper solid solution treatment.