Evaluation of mechanical and corrosion properties of TiB2-Y2O3 nanocomposite fused bronze metal matrix composite

Abstract

The present work is intended to fabricate titanium diboride (TiB2) and yttrium oxide (Y2O3) fused bronze metal matrix composite by stir casting technique to achieve effective mechanical and corrosion properties. TiB2-Y2O3 nanocomposite powders were synthesized using the mechanical milling synthesis technique. Spectroscopic analyses like Powder x-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were used to characterize the synthesizednanopowders. The XRD data revealed the average crystalline size of 110 ± 5nanometres with a hexagonal and cubic phase structure of TiB2 and Y2O3. The fundamental modes and other functional groups of the nanocomposite were analyzed using the FTIR analysis. The SEM images revealed the irregular morphological structures of the composite powders. The bronze metal matrix composite is fabricated by varying the weight percentage of TiB2-Y2O3 nanocomposite as 2%, 4%, and 6 wt% with bronze alloy via stir casting technique.XRD graphs revealed the formation of metal matrix composite and the FESEM graphs revealed the porous morphology of the composite. The mechanical performance of the composite was analyzed by using the tensile, compression, and hardness tests. Specimen with 4 wt% reinforcement material offered higher mechanical properties with 303 MPa tensile, 810 MPa compression,141 HRB hardness, and good corrosion resistance. Hence the fabricated TiB2-Y2O3 fused bronze metal matrix composite with good mechanical and corrosion properties can be used for various sea environment applications.