Laminated metal composites (LMCs) with alternating layers of commercial pure aluminum AA1050A and aluminum alloy AA5005 were produced by accumulative roll-bonding (ARB). In order to vary the layer thickness and the number of layer interfaces, different numbers of ARB cycles (4, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16) were performed. The microstructure and mechanical properties were characterized in detail. Up to 8 ARB cycles, the ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure of the layers in the LMC evolves almost equally to those in AA1050A and AA5005 mono-material sheets. However, the grain size in the composites tends to have smaller values. Nevertheless, the local mechanical properties of the individual layers in the LMCs are very similar to those of the mono-material sheets, and the macroscopic static mechanical properties of the LMCs can be calculated as the mean value of the mono-material sheets applying a linear rule of mixture. In contrast, for more than 12 ARB cycles, a homogenous microstructure was obtained where the individual layers within the composite cannot be visually separated any longer; thus, the hardness is at one constant and a high level across the whole sheet thickness. This results also in a significant higher strength in tensile testing. It was revealed that, with decreasing layer thickness, the layer interfaces become more and more dominating.

Atom probe tomography (APT) is a powerful technique to obtain 3D chemical and structural information, however the ‘standard’ atom probe experimental workflow involves transfer of specimens at ambient conditions. The ability to transfer air- or thermally-sensitive samples between instruments while maintaining environmental control is critical to prevent chemical or morphological changes prior to analysis for a variety of interesting sample materials. In this article, we describe a versatile transfer system that enables cryogenic- or room-temperature transfer of specimens in vacuum or atmospheric conditions between sample preparation stations, a focused ion beam system (Zeiss Crossbeam 540) and a widely used commercial atom probe system (CAMECA LEAP 4000X HR). As an example for the use of this transfer system, we present atom probe data of gallium- (Ga)-free grain boundaries in an aluminum (Al) alloy specimen prepared with a Ga-based FIB.

The influence of gradients in hardness and elastic properties at interfaces of dissimilar materials in laminated metallic composites (LMCs) on fatigue crack propagation is investigated experimentally for three different LMC systems: Al/Al-LMCs with dissimilar yield stress and Al/Steel-LMCs as well as Al/Ti/Steel-LMCs with dissimilar yield stress and Young’s modulus, respectively. The damage tolerant fatigue behavior in Al/Al-LMCs with an alternating layer structure is enhanced significantly compared to constituent monolithic materials. The prevalent toughening mechanisms at the interfaces are identified by microscopical methods and synchrotron X-ray computed tomography. For the soft/hard transition, crack deflection mechanisms at the vicinity of the interface are observed, whereas crack bifurcation mechanisms can be seen for the hard/soft transition. The crack propagation in Al/Steel-LMCs was studied conducting in-situ scanning electron microscope (SEM) experiments in the respective low cycle fatigue (LCF) and high cycle fatigue (HCF) regimes of the laminate. The enhanced resistance against crack propagation in the LCF regime is attributed to the prevalent stress redistribution, crack deflection, and crack bridging mechanisms. The fatigue properties of different Al/Ti/Steel-LMC systems show the potential of LMCs in terms of an appropriate selection of constituents in combination with an optimized architecture. The results are also discussed under the aspect of tailored lightweight applications subjected to cyclic loading.