Investigating the Effects and Mechanisms of Thermal Vibration Coupled Stress Relief Treatment on Residual Stress in SiC/Al Composites

Abstract Particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composites (PRAMCs) often exhibit significant residual stresses after quenching, which can detrimentally impact fatigue life and dimensional stability. Conventional stress relief treatments for aluminum alloys only partially alleviate these residual stresses. In this study, thermal stress relief (TSR), vibratory stress relief (VSR), and thermal-vibratory coupled stress relief (TVSR) treatments were investigated to relieve quenching residual stresses in SiC/Al composites. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of all three treatments in reducing residual stresses, with the greatest stress relief observed in the direction of maximum dynamic stress. Moreover, micro residual stresses obtained from the Macro-micro residual stress finite element (FE) model were analyzed to discuss the variations in stress relief effects. Further optimization of the TVSR process holds promise for effectively mitigating residual stresses in SiC/Al composits.