The overall effects of AlN nanoparticle addition to hybrid magnesium alloy AZ91/ZK60A

Abstract

A hybrid magnesium alloy nanocomposite containing AlN nanoparticle reinforcement was fabricated using solidification processing followed by hot extrusion. The nanocomposite exhibited similar grain size to the monolithic hybrid alloy, reasonable AlN and intermetallic nanoparticle distribution, nondominant (0 0 0 2) texture in the longitudinal direction, and 17% higher hardness than the monolithic hybrid alloy. Compared to the monolithic hybrid alloy, the nanocomposite exhibited higher tensile yield strength (0.2% TYS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) without significant compromise in failure strain and energy absorbed until fracture (EA) (+5%, +5%, -14% and -10%, resp.). Compared to the monolithic hybrid alloy, the nanocomposite exhibited unchanged compressive yield strength (0.2 CYS) and higher ultimate compressive strength (UCS), failure strain, and EA (+1%, +6%, +24%, and +6%, resp.). The overall effects of AlN nanoparticle addition on the tensile and compressive properties of the hybrid magnesium alloy is investigated in this paper. © 2012 Muralidharan Paramsothy et al.