Abstract
In this study, the influence of artificial aging at various temperatures and annealing on the mechanical characteristics of the Al-6.2Zn2.3Mg2.3Cu alloy composites bearing various amounts of TiB₂ particulates was investigated. Initially, the composites were produced with the cold pressing aid at 316 MPa and subsequently sintering at 590 °C. The composites were subjected to artificial aging at 100, 120, and 140 °C for 100 hours and the annealing. The microstructural observations were done using the SEM, EDX, and XRD analyses to clarify the materials’ phases. Next, the hardness and three-point bending tests of the investigated materials were done. All samples reached their highest hardness values after the artificial
aging at 120 °C for about 11 h. Besides, the bending strength level of Al-6.2Zn2.3Mg2.3Cu/TiB_2p composites was found to be lower than that of the Al-6.2Zn2.3Mg2.3Cu alloy.

Key words
metal matrix composites (MMC), powder consolidation, precipitation, hardness test, bending test

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