Wear behaviour of Al-MWCNT composites by varying MWCNTs concentration

Abstract

The present study illustrates the mechanical and wear behaviour of Al-MWCNT composites by varying MWCNTs concentration (0 %,0.25 %, 0.50 % & 1 %) by weight in composites. These composites were synthesized through sintering in the muffle furnace after mechanical alloying which involved flattening and welding particles to form flake-shaped lamellar particles. The presence of MWCNT lamellas restricted grain growth, creating a 2D aluminium layer between the MWCNTs during sintering. Increasing the MWCNT content in aluminum refined the interlayer thickness of the composites. The compressive strength of Al is increased exponentially with the addition of CNTs. By adding CNTs to aluminium, the maximum strength was reached at 460 MPa in 1% samples, and the compression strength of the aluminium increased by 84 % as well. The sintered composites exhibited higher hardness and its value increased significantly when CNTs were added to the Al composite. The wear resistance of aluminium is substantially increased when CNTs are added, and the maximum wear resistance is achieved when CNTs are added at 0.5 wt%. The addition of CNTs reduced wear resistance, which could be attributed to the decrease in interface adhesion and agglomeration effects of CNTs.

Keywords

• Al-MWCNT
• Light weight composites
• Mechanical alloying
• Sintering
• Grain growth
• Hardness