Reinforced Aluminum Composites Research Articles

3D printed aluminum matrix composites with well-defined ordered structures of shear-induced aligned carbon fibers

Carbon fiber reinforced aluminum composites with ordered architectures of shear-induced aligned carbon fibers were fabricated by 3D printing. The microstructures of the printed and sintered samples and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. Carbon fibers and aluminum powder were bonded together with resin. The spatial arrangement of the carbon fibers was fixed in the aluminum matrix by shear-induced alignment in the 3D printing process. As a result, the elongation of the composites with a parallel arrangement of aligned fibers and the impact toughness of the composites with an orthogonal arrangement were 0.82% and 0.41 ​J/cm 2 , respectively, about 0.4 and 0.8 times higher than that of the random arrangement.

Agricultural waste and natural dolomite for green production of aluminum composites

Metal matrix composites (MMCs), and particularly aluminum matrix composites (AMCs), are beginning to make a substantial contribution to aerospace, automotive, and electronic industry application after more than a quarter-century of intensive study. To fabricate a cost-effective AMC with outstanding mechanical and physical properties the present work utilized two types of natural base reinforcement materials for elaborating AMCs by powder metallurgy technology (PM). The reinforcement materials were an agricultural waste (date palm seeds) and dolomite rocks at 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10% weight in addition to the aluminum matrix. The morphological and solid-phase characteristics were examined for the fabricated AMC specimens. These tests include X-ray diffraction, and optical and scanning microscopy. The microstructure of the fabricated specimens for both reinforcement materials showed uniform particle size distribution of the waste enforcement material as the PM technology was satisfactory in embedding the waste particles within the aluminum. The AMCs prepared were subjected to different mechanical loads and it was found that the composite reinforced with date palm seeds possess a high hardness property. A higher hardness of 50 HRV at 7.5% enforcement of date palm seeds was obtained compared to dolomite reinforced composite which showed 48.3 HRV at 7.5% enforcement. For the compressive strength, the date palm seeds composite resisted 23.8 MPa at 7.5% and only 16.68 MPa was obtained as a maximum compression resistance for the dolomite reinforced aluminum composite.

Corrosion and wear behaviors of brick powder reinforced aluminum composites manufactured by stir casting

Aluminum 6061 (Al6061) possesses good mechanical properties, strength, hardness, and corrosion resistance. However, the properties of Al6061 can be sufficiently raised by making composites. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are well known for their high strength and corrosion resistance. However, these properties depend on the reinforcement materials added to the metal matrix. In the present work, Al6061-based MMCs have been manufactured by stir casting. In these MMCs, brick powders are used as reinforcement materials. Four MMCs have been developed by varying concentration and size of brick powders: MMC1, 2 h ball milled and 1% by weight; MMC2, 2 h ball milled and 7% by weight; MMC3, 4 h ball milled and 1% by weight; and MMC4, 4 h ball milled and 7% by weight. The successful formation of MMCs is examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction. The corrosion and wear resistance of the manufactured MMCs have been investigated by electrochemical measurements and a pin-on disc tribometer. Based on the results of both tests, MMCs can be ranked as MMC4 > MMC3 > MMC2 > MMC1. The reason for improved behavior can be quoted as an enhancement in overall hardness and interaction of reinforced material with the matrix. To support this statement, the Vickers hardness of Al6061 and the developed composites have also been measured.

Synthesis, processing and phase analysis of quasi crystal particle reinforced aluminium matrix composite

ABSTRACT The main goal of the present study involves synthesis of Al-Cu-Fe based icosahedral quasi-crystal (QC) particles reinforced Al matrix composite and analyze its microstructure, phase and hardness property. The icosahedral quasi-crystal phase nominal composition was taken to Al63Cu25Fe12 (%). Mechanical alloying as a viable powder metallurgy route was used to synthesize the quasi-crystal phase with various milling parameters. The X-Ray diffraction analysis immediately after milling revealed that there was no formation of quasi-crystal phase exclusively by milling. However, after annealing the 100 hours milled powders at 600°C for 4 hours, the quasi-crystal phase was observed to form. The quasi-crystal phase was identified to be the 1/1 cubic approximant (α-Al85.5Cu36.95Fe15.5) of the icosahedral phase. The quasi-crystal particles reinforced aluminum composites were prepared with different concentrations (10–50 weight %) of the quasi-crystal phase by cold compaction. The compacted samples were then sintered for 4 hours at different temperatures such as 400°C, 500°C, and 600°C. The icosahedral Al64.3Cu23.5Fe12.2 phase formation was observed in the 600°C sintered composite, whose composition is approximately similar to the nominal composition used. The results uncovered that, while increasing the concentration of the reinforcement quasi-crystal phase, the hardness of the composite increased.

Influence of ageing on fatigue properties of graphite reinforced aluminium composites

ABSTRACT Impact of age hardening and incorporation of graphite particles reinforcements on fatigue properties of Aluminum metal matrix composites which were fabricated with liquid metallurgical method is explored in this paper. Fabricated fatigue testing specimens were age hardened at temp of 170 °C and 270 °C to improve fatigue strength. Both aged and ascast specimens were characterized to study fatigue properties at operating temperature.Ggraphite particulate and age hardening temperature influences the fatigue strength of composites owing to its higher fatigue life compaed with as cast condition and age hardening at 270 °C. The incorporation of graphite exhibited remarkable improvement in fatigue strength. The detailed study of fractured surfaces of composites under microscope revealed its failure mechanism. It is found that , hardness increased with aging temperature up to 170 °C, beyond which found to be decreased resulted in formation of precipitation near the grain boundaries and enhanced the hardness of composites. But at 270 °C, both precipitate and grain boundaries abrading reduces both strength and hardness of composite. EDS analysis of composites at different phases for particles and interface between matrix and graphite particles is shown rich phase in aluminium matrix and poor at the interface.

Density, Hardness, and Wear Responses of Rice Husk Ash Reinforced Aluminium Composites

Nowadays, there is an ever-increasing demand for lightweight, robust, and low-cost materials. The desire for increasingly exotic and superior materials has become unavoidable as science progresses. The manufacturing industry is looking for more complex geometries. For example, composite materials are a sort of innovative material that blends the properties of its constituent materials. One of the most extensively used composite materials is metal matrix composites. Aluminium matrix composites are lightweight, high-performance structural and functional materials used in a variety of industries, including defense, aerospace, automotive, heating systems, and sports and entertainment. It is really good for the environment to use by-products from agricultural sectors, such as rice husk, as reinforcement with MMCs. The purpose of this research is to use powder metallurgy technology to build an aluminum-based composite with rice husk ash (RHA) and evaluate how its properties may be enhanced. Whereas metal casting can be used to fabricate composites, powder metallurgy is more cost-effective because it allows for the production of parts that are closer to net shape, and castings cool slowly from the liquid state, causing workability concerns as well as other restrictions such as segregation limitations. Good microstructure in the finished product is possible to obtain as powder particles are small and homogenous, resulting in improved mechanical properties. The experiment was conducted using an L27 orthogonal array with four different input parameters from prior studies: composition (wt.% of RHA), compaction pressure (CP), sintering temperatures (STE), and sintering time (ST). On the aluminium based composite, several mechanical tests, such as density and hardness, as well as tribological testing, such as the wear test, were conducted, with each test yielding noteworthy results. To satisfy the industry's needs, a comparison study was conducted.

Role of Ultrasonic Treatment on Microstructure, Multiscale Mechanical, and Tribological Behavior of 2D Tungsten Disulfide Reinforced Aluminum Composites

This article is the first report on the role of ultrasonic treatment (UST) on microstructural evolution, multiscale mechanical behavior, and tribological response in 2D tungsten disulfide (WS2) reinforced aluminum (Al6061) matrix composites. Delaunay triangulation calculations show that UST for 45 s enables a fourfold enhancement in the dispersion parameter of WS2 reinforcements in the Al6061 matrix from 0.08 to 0.32. Improved WS2 dispersion contributes to higher nucleation density with 52.7% grain refinement efficiency, achieving a fine‐grained Al6061–WS2 composite. The role of UST‐induced 2D reinforcement dispersion on the elastic deformation is established at progressively increasing length scales from individual grains to the bulk composite. It is accomplished by integrating the nanodynamic modulus mapping technique with a finite element modeling framework built on experimentally acquired microstructures and localized elastic moduli. It delineates a directly proportional relationship between UST‐induced dispersion and elastic modulus enhancement at all length scales from 10 to 700 μm. Excellent dispersion of the 2D layered WS2 homogenizes the tribological response of the composite material with a tenfold reduction in the volume of material lost during wear.

Hot deformation behavior and microstructure of a 0.5 wt% graphene nanoplatelet reinforced aluminum composite

Abstract Through hot compression experiments at temperatures ranging from 603 to 723 K and strain rates ranging from 0.01 to 10 s−1, the hot deformation behavior of a 0.5 wt% graphene nanoplatelet-reinforced aluminum (0.5 wt% GNP/Al) composite prepared by the powder metallurgy method was studied. The constitutive equations obtained by mathematical models and a neural network were evaluated. The deformation property of the composite can be better described by the Johnson–Cook (JC) constitutive model optimized by establishing a relationship between the coefficient and variables obtained in the hot compression test, with a correlation coefficient (R) reaching 99.97% with the average relative error of 0.37% (98.1 and 4.17%, respectively, before optimization). Compared with the JC model, the neural network has perfect calculation accuracy and whole-process effectiveness, providing expanded and more accurate constitutive equations for subsequent simulations and for building the dynamic recrystallization model of the composite. The dynamic recrystallization model, hot processing map, and EBSD results are in agreement with each other and indicate that the optimal strain rate and temperature range of the composite are 0.01–0.1 s−1 and 693–723 K, respectively.

Hybrid Reinforced Aluminium Composites Using Reduced Graphene Oxide Fabricated via Powder Metallurgy Technique

Recently, carbonaceous materials, such as graphene, have proven to be promising additives that show considerable improvements in mechanical and tribological properties of aluminium-based composites. In this present investigation, novel aluminium based hybrid composite specimens of various RGO and Al2O3 contents are prepared using powder metallurgy technique. The composite specimens have been tested in wear and microhardness. The results show that the hybrid composite containing 0.3 wt.% RGO-5 wt.% Al2O3 experiences the highest wear resistance with a hardness of about 76 HV among the tested composite specimens. The improvement in properties in the optimized hybrid composite was found to be much higher when compared to hybrid Aluminium Composites in literature fabricated using other techniques.

Towards the Enhanced Mechanical and Tribological Properties and Microstructural Characteristics of Boron Carbide Particles Reinforced Aluminium Composites: A Short Overview

This paper overviews the fabrication, microstructural characteristics, mechanical properties and tribological behaviour of B4C reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites (AMMCs). The stir casting procedure and parameters used to fabricate the Al-B4C composites are discussed. The influence of physical parameters such as applied load, sliding speed and sliding distance on tribological behaviour is analysed. The role of the mechanically mixed layer (MML) and wear mechanisms on the wear behaviour and friction coefficient are emphasised. The overview of tribological behaviour revealed that the Al-B4C composites possess excellent abrasion resistance and the ability to operate over a wide range of physical parameters. The Al-B4C composites exhibited better tribological behaviour when compared with the composites reinforced with conventional reinforcement particles (SiC).

Electrical, Thermal, and Mechanical Characterization of Hot Coined Carbon Fiber Reinforced Pure Aluminium Composites

Poor interfacial structure and severe agglomerations of carbon fiber (CF) are significant problems that face carbon fiber reinforced aluminium (CF/Al) composites. Thus, CF was surface modified with nano copper particles (Cu) to overcome these problems. Two groups of CF/Al composites (uncoated and coated) at different weight percentages of reinforcement (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20) were fabricated using the planetary ball milling method and then uniaxially hot coined at 550 ℃ under 700 MPa. The results showed that CF refined the crystallite size of the Al matrix, and no {mathrm{Al}}_{4}{mathrm{C}}_{3} or {mathrm{Al}}_{2}mathrm{Cu} were detected in XRD patterns. The density and thermal expansion of composites reduced with increasing CF percentage in all samples. The electrical and thermal conductivities are improved up to 10 wt% of uncoated reinforcement and 15 wt% of coated one. The mechanical test results revealed that by increasing CF, the compressive strength of composites decreased while the wear properties improved for both groups. Cu deposition on CF improved the bonding between reinforcement and matrix, producing composites with better interfacial bonding, fewer agglomerations and porosity, and higher values of the properties of the composites.Graphic Preparation and characterization of carbon fiber reinforced aluminium composites by hot coining technique

Evaluation of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of TiO2 Reinforced Aluminium Composites Developed Through Multi-Step Stir Casting

Evaluation of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of TiO2 Reinforced Aluminium Composites Developed Through Multi-Step Stir Casting

Thermal response of the two-directional high-thermal-conductive carbon fiber reinforced aluminum composites with low interface damage by a vacuum hot pressure diffusion method

A two directional high thermal conductive carbon fiber reinforced aluminum matrix composite with low interface damage is prepared by a vacuum hot-pressure diffusion method using the mesophase-pitch-based carbon fiber (CFMP) cloth as fast heat conduction channels. The fiber/matrix interface is composed of an amorphous gradient transition layer between aluminum matrix and CFMP rather than Al4C3 interface phase, thus endowing the continuous heat conduction channels in the composite. The composites deliver the high thermal conductivity of 305.5 W∙m−1∙K−1 in the X (Y) direction and the low volume density of only 2.53 g∙cm−3 when the fiber volume fraction reaches 30 vol%. The high thermal conductivity of the composite is attributed to the highly oriented fast heat transfer effect of the CFMP, the isotropic heat transfer effect of the aluminum matrix and the low-damage CFMP/aluminum interface. This study opens a new avenue to design and select the high thermal conductivity and lightweight thermal management materials for the aerospace field.

A study on bi-objective optimization for end milling of Aluminium based composite

The composites are renowned for better properties than base alloy. In general, 2-8% weight fraction of reinforcement has been researched for various industrial applications. The addition of reinforcement gives improvement in mechanical properties but badly affects ductility. Liquid route method (casting) has been employed for fabrication of SiC reinforced aluminum composites. Machining has been performed by controlling input parameters such as cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut. Roughness parameter (Ra) and material removal rate (MRR) have been considered for evaluation of surface quality and productivity respectively. Only MRR has been given consideration for rough machining conditions. Whereas, both surface roughness and MRR have been considered for the finish machining conditions. Standard L9 orthogonal array have been employed for the experimentation. The occurrence of hard reinforcement in the base alloy creates the casted composite tough to machine. The confirmation experiments have been performed with the optimal settings of process parameters to confirm the output responses.

Preparation and properties of multi-walled carbon nanotube reinforced alumina composites by sol- spray method

The spherical composite powders of multi-walled carbon nanotubes reinforced alumina are prepared by sol- spray. The results show that the multi-walled carbon nanotubes are well dispersed in the composites. The analyses of the composite properties show that most of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes are distributed in a network at the grain boundaries, and a small number of them are distributed in the grains. When the mass fraction of multi-walled carbon nanotubes accounts for 0.5%, the Vickers hardness of the composite increases by 32.6% relative to pure alumina; the thermal diffusion coefficient increased averagely by 27.2% with respect to pure alumina at different temperatures. The composites are conductive at 0.5% of multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and the percolation threshold of the composites prepared by this method is 0.32<i>wt.</i>% based on the fitting of the percolation conductivity theory, indicating that the multi-walled carbon nanotubes are well dispersed in the alumina matrix.

Corrosion behavior of particle reinforced aluminum composites

Abstract In the study, the corrosion behavior of aluminum matrix composites reinforced with boron carbide (B4C), silicon carbide (SiC) and alumina (Al2O3) were investigated in saltwater (3.5 % NaCl). Composite materials were produced by powder metallurgy. For composite materials production, various reinforcement and aluminum powders were mixed by mechanical alloying for 4 and 10 hours. After mechanical alloying, mixed powders were compacted under 700 MPa pressure and sintered at 600 °C. Electrochemical corrosion tests were applied on specimens in the saltwater solution using potentiodynamic methods. According to the results of the investigation, the best corrosion resistance was obtained by aluminum/B4C and the lowest by aluminum/Al2O3 composites.

Experimental and numerical evaluation of thermal conductivity of graphene nanoplatelets reinforced aluminium composites produced by powder metallurgy and hot extrusion technique

Graphene Nanoplatelets(GNPs) dispersed aluminium composites with excellent mechanical and thermal properties offer great potentials for heat exchanger applications. Graphene Nanoplatelets reinforced aluminium composites are prepared using powder metallurgy and a hot extrusion process, with the GNPs content ranging from zero to 2 wt. percentage in increments of 0.5 wt%. In this work, the thermal conductivity of aluminium composites with 0.5 wt%, 1 wt%, 1.5% and 2 wt% GNPs are predicted using finite element analysis, experimental and theoretical models. The unit cell approach method is used to find the thermal conductivity of GNPs dispersed aluminium composites numerically. The thermal conductivity of GNPs dispersed aluminium composites are predicted with different models. The thermal conductivity of the GNPs dispersed aluminium composites increases with increasing the wt% of GNPs. After comparisons with the theoretical model and experimental results for thermal conductivity of GNPs dispersed aluminium composites, it can be seen that our finite element analysis result can reach a good agreement with experimental values.

Experimental investigations on properties of MoS2 and TiB2 reinforced aluminium composites

In this work, Aluminum Alloy (AA 6081) matrix composites reinforced with Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and Titanium Diboride (TiB2) have been developed through stir casting (SC) method. Influence of TiB2 on the properties of the aluminium composite was studied. The incorporation of TiB2 in the AA6081-2MoS2 matrix improved hardness of the composite. The improved tensile strength (TS) and compressive strength (CS) was obtained for the AA6081-2MoS2-12 wt% TiB2 composite. The high impact strength (IS) is obtained for the AA6081-2MoS2-8 wt% TiB2 composite. The decreased elongation was observed for the increasing content of TiB2. The high bending strength (BS) was obtained for the AA6081-2MoS2-8 wt% TiB2 composite.

Mechanical behavior and failure mechanism of the 3D angle interlocking woven reinforced aluminum matrix composites under in-plane tensile loading

3D angle interlocking fabric reinforced aluminum composites were prepared by the vacuum assisted pressure infiltration method. The mechanical properties and damage behavior of the composites subjected to in-plane tensile loading were investigated using the micromechanical finite element simulation and experimental method. The results show that the tensile stress-strain curve from simulation is in agreement with the testing curves, where the calculation errors of the initial modulus, ultimate strength and fracture strain in warp (weft) direction are 3.96%(1.11%), 1.40%(6.86%) and −5.49%(3.73%), respectively. Under the warp directional tension condition, the interface on warp yarns and the adjoint matrix alloy damage successively. With the increase of tensile strain, these damage zones accumulate and interact with each other, leading to the failure of interface, matrix and weft yarns in sequence. The fracture of warp yarns in the terminate stage induces the ultimate failure of the composites. During the weft directional tensile process, the interface on warp yarns and the thin matrix alloy between yarns damage and fail firstly. The transverse fracture of warp yarns occurs in the middle stage of tensile deformation. The axial fracture of weft yarns, which sustain the loading stress at the end of deformation process, is the main failure mechanism of the composites under weft directional tensile condition. The tensile modulus and strength in weft direction are 81.8% and 56.5% times than those in warp direction, owing to the lower volume fraction of weft yarns in the 3D angle interlocking fabric.

Enhanced interfacial strength of graphene reinforced aluminum composites via X (Cu, Ni, Ti)-coating: Molecular-dynamics insights

The poor interface bonding between graphene and aluminum is one of the main challenges which could impede wider application of graphene/Al composites. Coating metals on graphene layer could be an effective method to solve this problem. In this research, the pullout processes and uniaxial tensile tests were performed by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method to explore how the coating metals, such as Ni, Cu and Ti, affect the interfacial strength between C-Al bonds and the mechanical properties of nanocomposites, respectively. The results reveal that Ni is the most powerful coating metal among these three candidates in enhancing interfacial strength since it has the highest value of pullout force. Also, it leads to an enhancement of 26.39% in the Young’s modulus when compared with the one without coating treatment. As for the impact of various amounts of Ni coating, it is demonstrated that the interfacial bonding can be enhanced up to 87.65%, 92.67%, 111.27% and 145.34% with the percentage of Ni coating was 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, respectively. In terms of the mechanical property, the various percentage of Ni has little impact on Young’s modulus while the value of tensile strength falls slightly, from 58.94 GPa to 51.88 GPa.