---

In this study, the effect of accumulative roll bonding (ARB) process on microstructure and hardness of cast A356/titanium carbide composite produced by semi-solid processing evaluated. ARB process up to 4 cycles on the composite containing 10 vol.% titanium carbide with an average particle size less than 10 μm performed at ambient temperature. Microstructural examination by optical microscope and harness tests including macrohardness and microhardness performed. The results showed that by increasing the number of process cycles, the distribution of the Si and TiC in the aluminum matrix homogenized, the particles became finer and more spheroidal. On the other hand, particle free zones removed and the quality of the bond between the particles and the matrix improved. In addition, the porosity in the casting structure significantly decreased. It was found that the hardness in the first two cycles greatly increased, and then the number of cycles had less effect on the hardness value. In general, the microstructure of the composite after 4 cycles of ARB process considerably refined so that the increased hardness of the composite was 170% compared to the cast. The results showed that by increasing the number of ARB cycles, the amount of fluctuation in the thickness of the composite decreased.

---

In recent years, many attentions have been paid to decrease of the weight of components in automotive, transport and aeronautical industries, in respect of reduction of energy consumption and environmental pollution. Therefore, low-density aluminum alloys reinforced with nanoparticles especially CNT and Al2O3 have been broadly considered for application in such industries due to high strength/weight ratio. In current work, Al-CNT-Al2O3 nanocomposite was produced by accumulative roll bonding (ARB) after 6 passes. CNT-Al2O3 composite with 1wt% multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and 2wt% nano-alumina was prepared by ball milling process. The effect of the ARB cycles on the microstructure and mechanical properties of nanocomposite were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy images (FESEM), X-ray diffraction data, tensile and micro hardness results. FESEM images showed the uniform distribution and high quality bonding of carbon nanotubes in the matrix. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated the composite nanostructure formation with the crystal size of 53.3 nm after 6 cycles of ARB compared to 77 nm of Al after pass 11. The results obtained by the tensile and hardness tests showed that at the end of ARB process, ultimate strength was 5.9 times, and hardness was 3 times more than those of the annealed aluminum.