Novel carbon nanotube and fly-ash reinforced Al composites for automobile and aerospace applications

Abstract

The present study is focused on the fabrication of novel material carbon nanotube-fly-ash (CNT-FA) reinforced aluminium (Al) composite for automobile and aerospace applications using powder metallurgy technique. CNTs (0.25, 0.5, 0.75 wt%) and FA (4, 8, 16 wt%) were blended with aluminium matrix at 250 rpm for 4 h using ball milling technique. Blended composite powders were then compacted at 285 MPa and sintered at 500 °C for 1 h. Mechanical properties were analysed by density, Vickers hardness and wear tests. The microstructure was analysed by scanning electron microscope. The role of reinforcements was such that relative density decreased with increasing the content of FA and CNT while hardness increased with increase in FA up to 8 wt% but decreased with increase in CNT content. The wear rate was also found to be low compared to monolithic materials. The microstructure of the composite revealed excellent bonding between the reinforcements and matrix which resulted in improved properties over unreinforced matrix material. From the experimental results it can be concluded that CNT-FA reinforced composites can become a novel material to substitute for the lightweight materials.