WEAR PROPERTIES OF ALUMINUM MATRIX COMPOSITES REINFORCED BY GRAPHENE ENCAPSULATED SiC NANOPARTICLES

Abstract

Graphene encapsulated SiC nanoparticles reinforced aluminum matrix composites were prepared by high energy ball-milling and hot-press sintering methods. The effect of graphene content on microstructure and wear properties of composites was investigated. The results show that the graphene sheets successfully encapsulates SiC nanoparticles to form a composite reinforcement phase under the condition of the graphene content of 1 wt.%. SiC nanoparticles encapsulated with graphene predominantly are homogeneously distributed on the grain boundaries of Al matrix. The interface between graphene and Al matrix is sharpand no Al-C compound is formed on the interface. The increase of the reinforcement phase reduces the wear performance of the composite material. The main wear mechanisms of aluminum-based composite materials are the combination of delamination wear and abrasive wear. As the graphene content increases, the wear mechanism changes from abrasive wear to delamination wear.