The effect of milling time, and sintering temperature and time on the microstructure-property relationship of aluminium-matrix hybrid composites

Abstract

The present study investigates the effect of milling time, and sintering temperature and time on the microstructure and properties of aluminium matrix hybrid composites (AMHCs). The AMHCs containing aluminium nitride (AlN) and yttrium tungstate (Y2W3O12) have been fabricated by powder metallurgy route. The powder mixtures were subjected to milling for different times, i.e., 0.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 & 14 h followed by compaction and sintering in a temperature range of 550–650 °C for different times, e.g., 1, 1.5 and 2 h. The smallest crystallite size along with the homogeneous distribution of reinforcements is observed at 10 h of milling time. The microstructure and corresponding properties, i.e., relative density, hardness and compressive strength are influenced by milling time, sintering temperature and sintering time. The optimised processing parameters for getting the maximum values of relative density, hardness, and compressive strength of the AMHCs are found to be 10 h of milling time, 600 °C of sintering temperature, and 1 h of sintering time.