Influence of synthesizing parameters on surface qualities of aluminium alloy AA5083/ CNT/MoS2 nanocomposite in powder metallurgy technique

Abstract

Aluminium alloys are indispensable in all manufacturing industries, particularly mechanical engineering. The objective of this study is to enhance the mechanical, wear, and corrosion properties of aluminium alloy AA5083 by incorporating nanoparticles as reinforcements, thereby creating hybrid aluminium nanocomposites. The base material utilised in this study was AA5083, with the reinforcement nanoparticles selected as Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) at concentrations of 5 % and 3 % respectively. Nanocomposites were fabricated using the Powder Metallurgy (PM) technique, employing specific contrasting parameters including Ball mill speed (280, 320, 360, and 400 rpm), Mixing time (20, 30, 40, and 50 min), Compaction pressure (300, 350, 400, and 450 MPa), and Sintering time (2, 3, 4, and 5 h). The operating parameters of powder metallurgy were assessed using the Design of Experiments (DOE) L16 Orthogonal Array, and their corresponding outcomes were analyzed. The results revealed that there is a significant correlation between the mixing time and microhardness of the nanocomposites. The wear and corrosion reduction rates had a significant impact on the sintering time parameter. The present study determined that the highest recorded microhardness value was 136 VHN, while the lowest observed rates of wear and corrosion were 0.192 mm3/m and 0.00081 mm/year, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images clearly depicted the presence of various structural defects, such as pits, cracks, delamination, voids, and cusps, in the wear and corrosion samples that exhibited reduced strength.