Characterization of Mg/MgO nanocomposites synthesized using powder metallurgy technique

Abstract

Magnesium nanocomposites with 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 volume percentages of MgO were synthesized using the powder metallurgy technique. The nanocomposite billets obtained were subsequently hot extruded at a temperature of 350 °C with an extrusion ratio of 20.25:1. The extruded nanocomposites were characterized for their microstructural, physical and mechanical properties. The microstructures of the nanocomposites showed individual particles of MgO uniformly distributed in the magnesium matrix. The thermomechanical analysis results revealed that a more thermally stable magnesium nanocomposite could be obtained with a threshold amount of MgO. The tensile properties results indicated that the yield strength peaks at 0.3 vol.% of reinforcement incorporated, with an improvement of approximately 17%. An attempt is made to correlate the volume fraction of the MgO with the resultant physical and mechanical properties of the magnesium nanocomposites. Copyright © 2005 by ASME.