Integrated Computational Materials Engineering for the Development and Design of High Modulus Al Alloys

Integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) is to integrate multi-scale computational simulations and key experimental methods such as macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic into the whole process of Al alloys design and development, which enables the design and development of Al alloys to upgrade from traditional empirical to the integration of composition-process-structure-mechanical property, thus greatly accelerating its development speed and reducing its development cost. This study combines calculation of phase diagram (CALPHAD), Finite element calculations, first principle calculations, and microstructure characterization methods to predict and regulate the formation and structure of composite precipitates from the design of high-modulus Al alloy compositions and optimize the casting process parameters to inhibit the formation of micropore defects in the casting process, and the final tensile strength of Al alloys reaches 420 MPa and Young’s modulus reaches more than 88 GPa, which achieves the design goal of the high strength and modulus Al alloys, and establishes a new mode of the design and development of the strength/modulus Al alloys.