Designing wear-resistant high-zinc aluminium alloys with high strength and ductility

Compared with costly wear-resistant alloys such as bronze and zinc-based alloys, high-zinc aluminium alloys present a promising alternative. Usually, strength and ductility in metals are inversely related, posing the same bottleneck in high-zinc aluminium alloys. Here, we improve the strength and ductility of high-zinc aluminium alloy. Through microalloying, 0.8 wt% Ag and 0.25 wt% Sc were introduced into high-zinc aluminium alloys, resulting in multi-dimensional modification of the brittle η-Zn phases. Ag dissolves in the η-Zn phase, modifying its morphology from a rough ellipse to a fine strip. Sc forms Al3Sc precipitates, which act as nucleation sites for more and finer η-Zn particles. The distribution of η-Zn is regulated in multiple dimensions. Finally, an alloy with a yield strength of 400 MPa and an elongation of 13.8% was obtained, representing increases of 45.5% and 126%, respectively, compared to the base high-zinc aluminium alloy. High-zinc content aluminium alloys are valued for their wear resistance and are used in aerospace and automotive applications. Here, 400 MPa yield strength and 13.8% ductility are achieved through microalloying to control precipitate formation.