Characterization of magnesium/carbon nanotubes composites synthesized using an innovative solidification method

Abstract

In the study reported in this paper, carbon nanotubes of up to two per cent by weight were added as reinforcement to the pure magnesium. A disintegrated melt deposition technology was employed as the solidification method and the ingots produced were subsequently hot extruded at a temperature of 350 °C and extrusion ratio of 20:1. The thermo-mechanical analysis showed a reduction in the coefficient of thermal expansion due to the presence of the carbon nanotubes. Examination of the mechanical properties indicated that with increasing amount of carbon nanotubes reinforcement added, there was a significant improvement in the performance of pure magnesium. An attempt is made to correlate the weight fraction of the carbon nanotubes with the properties of the resulting magnesium nanocomposite material. © 2004 by ASME.