Enhancing the strength and plasticity of hot isostatic pressing sintered Al-Ta energetic structural materials by controlling the Mg content

To enhance the strength and plasticity of Al-based intermetallic energetic structural material (ESM), several Al alloys with varying Mg contents were selected as the matrix to investigate the effects of Mg on the Al/Ta interfacial characteristics and mechanical properties of Al-Ta ESM fabricated by hot isostatic pressing (HIP). The results show that the utilization of an Al alloy containing Mg as the matrix can enhance the strength and plasticity of Al-Ta ESM simultaneously through interface strengthening. The interface strengthening lies on the addition of Mg which can segregate to the Al/Ta interface and participate in the reaction to cause a higher degree of interface diffusion compared with pure Al-Ta. A Mg-rich Al/Ta interface is observed after interfacial reaction. The thinner Mg-rich interface can alleviate the stress concentration at the interface by reducing the strain in matrix adjacent to the interface and hence prevented the interfacial debonding failure of Al-Ta ESM.