Development of metal matrix nanocomposites for high strength applications

X. JIANG; A. KNOWLES; M. GALANO; F. AUDEBERT

Manchester

Congreso; National Student Conference in Metallic Materials; 2012

Aluminium alloy composites have become a very important area of materials and been widely used in industrial sectors due to their lightweight and combined properties of high strength and ductility. Previous studies have mainly concentrate on micro-sized reinforcements. The effects of nano-sized reinforcements on the mechanical properties of composites have not been studied thoroughly yet. In this poster, 6061 aluminium alloy reinforced with Al2O3 and SiC nanoparticles has been produced by ball milling, compaction and extrusion. Both microstructural characterization and mechanical property tests have been carried out to compare with the properties of micro-sized aluminium alloy composites. The present work shows the mechanical behaviour of 6061 aluminium alloy composites reinforced with Al2O3 and SiC nanoparticles has a considerable improvement compared with either the monolithic aluminium alloy or microparticle reinforced Aluminium composites. And many factors, such as reinforcement type, reinforcement size, weight fraction and heat treatment conditions, all affect the microstructure and in turn the overall properties of materials.