Enhancing Strength and Toughness of Aluminum Laminated Composites through Hybrid Reinforcement Using Dispersion Engineering

• Published in: Journal of composites science Vol. 7; no. 8; p. 332
• Main Authors: Sadeghi, Behzad, Cavaliere, Pasquale, Sadeghian, Behzad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.08.2023
• Subjects: Aerospace industry; aluminum matrix composite; Aluminum matrix composites; Atoms & subatomic particles; Boron; Building materials; Carbon; Carbon nanotubes; CNT; Composite materials; Deformation; dispersion engineering; Ductility; Elongation; Graphene; High strength; in situ; Laminar composites; laminated composites; Laminated materials; Mechanical properties; Mechanical systems; Nanoparticles; nanoscale Al3BC; Powder metallurgy; Strain hardening; Stress concentration; Synthesis; Tensile strength; Toughness; Weight reduction
• DOI: 10.3390/jcs7080332
• ISSN: 2504-477X

In this work, we propose a hybrid approach to solve the challenge of balancing strength and ductility in aluminum (Al) matrix composites. While some elements of our approach have been used in previous studies, such as in situ synthesis and ex situ augmentation, our work is innovative as it combines these techniques with specialized equipment to achieve success. We synthesized nanoscale Al3BC particles in situ using ultra-fine particles by incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into elemental powder mixtures, followed by mechanical activation and annealing, to obtain granular (UFG) Al. The resulting in situ nanoscale Al3BC particles are uniformly dispersed within the UFG Al particles, resulting in improved strength and strain hardening. By innovating the unique combination of nanoscale Al3BC particles synthesized in situ in UFG Al, we enabled better integration with the matrix and a strong interface. This combination provides a balance of strength and flexibility, which represents a major breakthrough in the study of composites. (Al3BC, CNT)/UFG Al composites exhibit simultaneous increases in strength (394 MPa) and total elongation (19.7%), indicating increased strength and suggesting that there are promising strengthening effects of in situ/ex situ reinforcement that benefit from the uniform dispersion and the strong interface with the matrix. Potential applications include lightweight and high-strength components for use in aerospace and automotive industries, as well as structural materials for use in advanced mechanical systems that require both high strength and toughness.