Mechanical and wear performance of A356/Al₂O₃ aluminum nanocomposites by considering the mechanical milling time and microstructural properties

Abstract

Purpose The paper aims to examine the mechanical and wear performance of A356/Al2O3 (alumina) nanocomposites. The correlation between wear performance and the microstructural properties that result from various mechanical milling periods was investigated. Design/methodology/approach The production of nano alumina reinforced (1 Wt.%) A356 aluminum nanocomposite specimens was carried out using the traditional powder metallurgy method, incorporating three different mechanical milling times (1, 2 and 4 h). Subsequently, mechanical and wear performance assessments were conducted using hardness, compression and pin-on-disc wear tests. Findings Although the specimens subjected to the most prolonged mechanical milling (4 h) demonstrated superior hardness and compressive strength properties, they exhibited a remarkable weight loss during the wear tests. The traditional evaluation, which supports that the wear performance is generally correlated with hardness, does not consider the microstructural properties. Since the sample milled for 1 h has a moderate microstructure, it showed better wear performance than the sample with higher hardness. Originality/value The originality of the paper is demonstrated through its evaluation of wear performance, incorporating not only hardness but also the consideration of microstructural properties resulted from mechanical milling. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-02-2023-0031/

A Study on the Influence of Zr on the Strengthening of the Al-10% Al2O3 Composite Obtained by Mechanical Alloying

“…Traditional reinforcing phases in composites are ceramic particles, such as Al 2 O 3 , which are characterized by high hardness and melting temperatures [12]. Al-Al 2 O 3 composites are produced using various methods, including stir casting [13,14], gas pressure infiltration [15,16], ultrasonic casting [17,18], squeeze casting [19], semi-solid mechanical stirring [20], powder metallurgy [21] and mechanical alloying [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. Mechanical alloying [32][33][34][35][36][37] is the most effective method for forming a homogeneous ultrafine structure.…”