The influence of processing temperature on grain size reduction in AA 6063 aluminum alloy subjected to repetitive corrugation and straightening (RCS) is investigated in this work. The aluminum alloy was processed by RCS at different temperatures (room temperature, 100 °C, 200 °C and 300 °C) till the maximum number of passes possible before failure and the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and hardness were measured. The grain size and their misorientation of grains of the processed samples were analyzed using the electron backscattered diffraction. The results indicated that the transformation of low-angle grain boundaries to high-angle grain boundaries and dislocation tangles were highly dependent on the strain imparted, which could be controlled by selecting the proper processing temperature. As a result, the mechanical properties are affected. In particular, the room temperature tensile strength and hardness values of the processed material decrease with increasing processing temperature.
In this work, the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method is used for the production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The catalyst, Fe/MgO, was prepared through sonication technique. It was heated to 600 °C for 6 hours and this was used as the template for growing the CNTs using acetylene as carbon precursor. The deposited CNTs were separated by acid treatment followed by air oxidation. The purified CNTs were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The CNTs were observed to have a multi-wall structure with the diameter in the range of 10–20 nm. These multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used as filler material in an epoxy matrix. Sonication technique was used to achieve uniform dispersion of CNTs within the matrix. The CNT/epoxy nanocomposite was cured at a temperature of 100 °C for 3 hours. Tensile strength, flexural strength, fire retardant properties and surface conductivity were studied. The results reveal that addition of MWCNTs to the epoxy promotes substantial improvement to the above mentioned properties.
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