A study on aluminium and magnesium metal matrix nanocomposites developed by various ultrasonication assisted casting techniques

Abstract

Metal matrix nanocomposites have sparked substantial attention in recent years due to their capacity to improve the mechanical and physical properties of traditional materials. When compared to traditional equivalents, these nanocomposites with a metal matrix linked with homogeneously dispersed reinforcing nanoparticles exhibit increased strength, stiffness, wear resistance, and thermal stability. However, commercial applications in large scale production of Metal Matrix Nanocomposites (MMNCs) are not established because to the high cost of available reinforcements and production challenges. The major disadvantages of MIVINCs were high reinforcement costs, lack of consistency and repeatability in successful manufacturing processes, lack of material standards for commercialization, nonuniformity of reinforcement morphology, matrix/reinforcement interfacial reactions, reinforcement clustering, anisotropic properties of MMNCs, matrix and reinforcement compatibility, and so on.In this work, a simultaneous rotational ultrasonication with mechanical stirring (RUMS) technique was applied to successfully produce aluminum alloy / hexagonal boron nitride (AA7075/h-BN) Metal Matrix Nanocomposites (MMNCs). The rotating ultrasonic probe with a mechanical stirring impeller arrangement was employed in the casting process. The ultrasonic probe with 20kHz frequency, 2.5kW power, and 400rpm rotational speed was used for the experimental work. The five variations of MMNCs (AA7075 - Owt.%, 0.15wt.%, 0.3wt.%, 0.6wt.% and 1.0wt% h-BN) were fabricated by RUMS process. The MMNCs were solutionized and artificially aged as per ASTM T6 heat-treatment conditions. newline