Microstructural, mechanical and tribological characterization of vacuum stir cast Mg-4Zn/Si3N4 magnesium matrix nanocomposite

Abstract

Stir casting route is a relatively easy, cheap and popular method to produce metal matrix composites. Vacuum stir casting method uses pressure values, which comes intermediate to the gravity and squeeze casting variants of the stir casting process. This article presents the mechanical properties, the microstructural and the wear characteristics of the as-cast nanocomposite of Magnesium. The Magnesium nanocomposite was produced by the vacuum stir casting process with Mg-4Zn alloy as the matrix and Si3N4 nanoparticles as the reinforcement. Microstructural characterization was carried out by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the Mg-4Zn/Si3N4 nanocomposite possesses mechanical and wear properties comparable to other Mg-based materials reported in the literature.