Strength-ductility synergy in lightweight aluminium alloys with nano-layered fibres and core-shell nano-particles
Abstract
Lightweight, high-strength structural materials are component enablers in transportation and aerospace, reducing carbon footprints and enhancing fuel efficiency. Cast aluminium alloys, mainly based on eutectic compositions, make up ~85% of these materials but often fail catastrophically due to inefficient load transfer across the interfaces between the brittle eutectic phase and the ductile matrix. Here, we discovered that promoting a superlattice nano-layer (SNL) around the eutectic fibres, achieved by adding Zr to an Al-Gd near-eutectic alloy, enables excellent load transfer capabilities, resulting in a ~400% increase in tensile ductility. The primary α-Al matrix also contains a high number density of superlattice core-shell nanoparticles. This exceptional increase in formability is attributed to the ability of the SNL to prevent dislocations from accumulating at the weak fibre/matrix interfaces, thereby avoiding stress concentrations that would otherwise initiate fibre breakage and debonding. The coreshell nano-particles in α-Al cause a large number of dislocation cross/multiple-slips on {111} planes, forming ultra-fine (⁓ 12 nm) dislocation networks that leverage substantial plastic strain accumulation. This atomic interface design overcomes the ductility limitations of cast-eutectic alloys, enabling them for structural applications.
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BibTeX
@article{kumar2026strengthductility,
title = {{Strength-ductility synergy in lightweight aluminium alloys with nano-layered fibres and core-shell nano-particles}},
author = {Hemant Kumar and Praveen Kumar and Dierk Raabe and Baptiste Gault and Surendra Kumar Makineni},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-74748-9},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05761950v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Strength-ductility synergy in lightweight aluminium alloys with nano-layered fibres and core-shell nano-particles
AU - Hemant Kumar
AU - Praveen Kumar
AU - Dierk Raabe
AU - Baptiste Gault
AU - Surendra Kumar Makineni
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-74748-9
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05761950v1
AB - Lightweight, high-strength structural materials are component enablers in transportation and aerospace, reducing carbon footprints and enhancing fuel efficiency. Cast aluminium alloys, mainly based on eutectic compositions, make up ~85% of these materials but often fail catastrophically due to inefficient load transfer across the interfaces between the brittle eutectic phase and the ductile matrix. Here, we discovered that promoting a superlattice nano-layer (SNL) around the eutectic fibres, achieved by adding Zr to an Al-Gd near-eutectic alloy, enables excellent load transfer capabilities, resulting in a ~400% increase in tensile ductility. The primary α-Al matrix also contains a high number density of superlattice core-shell nanoparticles. This exceptional increase in formability is attributed to the ability of the SNL to prevent dislocations from accumulating at the weak fibre/matrix interfaces, thereby avoiding stress concentrations that would otherwise initiate fibre breakage and debonding. The coreshell nano-particles in α-Al cause a large number of dislocation cross/multiple-slips on {111} planes, forming ultra-fine (⁓ 12 nm) dislocation networks that leverage substantial plastic strain accumulation. This atomic interface design overcomes the ductility limitations of cast-eutectic alloys, enabling them for structural applications.
SN - 2041-1723
SN - 2041-1723
ER -