Significantly improving microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ31B/Al2O3 composite by addition of Ca

Abstract

In this study, different amounts of Ca (1 wt. %, 2 wt. % and 3 wt. %) were incorporated into a AZ31B/nano-Al2O3 magnesium alloy composite using the disintegrated melt deposition (DMD) technique followed by hot extrusion. The samples were characterized in terms of physical, microstructural and mechanical properties. Microstructural characterization studies revealed that with increasing Ca addition, the matrix grain size and the presence of Mg17Al12 phase reduced. On the contrary, it was observed that the presence of Al2Ca phase increased. Furthermore, the presence of Ca significantly assisted in improving 0.2% yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) while failure strain (FS) was reduced. An attempt is made to correlate the effect of increasing amount of Ca on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ31B/nano-Al2O 3 composite.