Damping and dynamic compression behaviors of novel Zn–Al eutectoid alloy and polymer interpenetrating phase composites

Zinc-aluminum (ZA) alloys—especially ZA22, with its lamellar soft/hard eutectoid microstructure—exhibit significant potential as interpenetrating phase composites (IPCs) for aerospace and military applications that demand high vibration attenuation and impact resistance. Yet these IPCs remain poorly explored. The present work addresses this issue by synthesizing ZA22 alloy/polymer IPCs through a two-step gas-pressure infiltration process, where high-damping ZA22 alloy foam preforms inoculated with (Al 3 Ni + Al 3 Ti)/Al are fabricated via gas-pressurized infiltration in the first step, and the foams are infiltrated under pressure with either pure soft silicone rubber (SR) or a Ti 3 AlC 2 -reinforced variant in the second step. Microstructural analysis reveals that the metallic matrix of both composites with and without Ti 3 AlC 2 reinforcement comprise fine equiaxed α-phase and reticulated η-phase regions, with strong interfacial bonding established between the metallic framework and the filler. In addition, the damping behaviors of these composites are explored systematically over a wide range of strain amplitudes (10 −5 –10 −3 ) and temperatures (28–200 °C). The addition of Ti 3 AlC 2 reinforcement has a uniformly beneficial impact on the damping capacity of the IPCs, and an optimal content of 1.0 wt% Ti 3 AlC 2 achieves the highest damping capacity. Both IPCs with and without Ti 3 AlC 2 reinforcement exhibit flatter stress-strain responses and enhanced energy absorption capabilities in dynamic compression tests than ZA22 alloy foam samples. The high damping capacity of the optimal IPC is attributed to the synergistic activation of multi-scale damping mechanisms, while the enhanced compression performance can be attributed to the coordinated deformation of the metallic, polymeric, and ceramic phases .