<em>In-situ </em>reactions in hybrid aluminum alloy composites during incorporating silica sand in aluminum alloy melts

In order to gain a better understanding of the reactions and strengthening behavior in cast aluminum alloy/silica composites synthesized by stir mixing, experiments were conducted to incorporate low cost foundry silica sand into aluminum composites with the use of Mg as a wetting agent. SEM and XRD results show the conversion of SiO2 to MgAl2O4 and some Al2O3 with an accompanying increase in matrix Si content. A three-stage reaction mechanism proposed to account for these changes indicates that properties can be controlled by controlling the base Alloy/SiO2/Mg chemistry and reaction times. Experimental data on changes of composite density with increasing reaction time and SiO2 content support the three-stage reaction model. The change in mechanical properties with composition and time is also described

Tribological Performance of Graphite Nanoplatelets Reinforced Al and Al/Al2O3 Self-Lubricating Composites

In the present work, the effect of graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) on tribological properties of the aluminum (Al), and Al/alumina (Al2O3) composite are studied. GNPs are multilayer graphene sheets which were used as a solid lubricant material. Two sets of composites, Al/GNPs and Al/GNPs/Al2O3 with varying amounts of reinforcements, were synthesized by powder metallurgy that involves cold compaction followed by hot compaction. The hardness of the composites increased with the addition of GNPs and Al2O3. The Al/GNPs composite with 1 wt.% of GNPs (Al/1GNPs) showed a 20% increase in hardness whereas Al/GNPs/ Al2O3 composite with 1 wt.% GNPs and 2 wt.% Al2O3 (Al/1GNPs/2Al2O3) showed 27% increases in hardness compared to the pure Al. The coefficient of friction measured at 20 N was observed to be 22% and 53% lesser for Al/1GNPs and Al/1GNPs/2Al2O3, respectively, compared to corresponding alloys without graphene Al. The X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed the presence of GNPs at the worn surface after the tribology tests. The wear rate was also reduced significantly. In comparison with pure Al, the Al/1GNPs and Al/1GNPs/2Al2O3 composites resulted in 5- and 20-times lesser wear rate, respectively. The addition of Al2O3 caused reduction in wear rate due to higher hardness and load carrying ability, whereas composites with more than 1 wt.% GNPs showed higher wear rate due to lower hardness and higher porosity. The Al/1GNPs/2Al2O3 composite exhibited the least coefficient of friction (0.2–0.25) and wear rate (1 × 10−6–4 × 10−6 mm3/N.m) compared to other GNPs and Al2O3 reinforced Al composites. The worn surfaces were further analyzed to understand the wear mechanism by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction to detect the Al4C3 phase formation, chemical bonding, and defect formation in graphene

Strengthening In Hybrid Alumina-Titanium Diboride Aluminum Matrix Composites Synthesized By Ultrasonic Assisted Reactive Mechanical Mixing

A novel ultrasonic assisted in-situ stir mixing method, in which the reinforcements are synthesized in liquid aluminum, has been used to fabricate surface clean nano- or submicron-sized particulates in pure aluminum matrix. An exothermic reaction was designed to synthesize Al2O3 and TiB2 nanoparticles from TiO2 particles and elemental boron in an aluminum melt. Subsequently, the refining power of the nanoparticles in the metallic matrix has been investigated. Experimental and theoretical analysis show that the particle size and refining power of nanoparticles is controlled by the viscosity of the melt, rather than precipitation and growth. A model is proposed to describe the effect of processing variables to the refining power of nanoparticles. Subsequently, the tensile properties were measured to determine the strengthening mechanisms responsible for the change in properties of these materials. Experimental data combined with theoretical analysis suggest that both grain boundary strengthening and Orowan strengthening seem to account for the strength in the nanocomposites