Enhancing strength and ductility of magnesium by integrating it with aluminum nanoparticles

Abstract

Nano-size aluminum powder (Alp) reinforced magnesium composites were successfully synthesized using a powder metallurgy technique. Microstructural characterization of the materials revealed fairly uniform distribution of reinforcement. Mechanical properties characterization revealed that the presence of aluminum nanoparticles ≤1 vol.% leads to an increase in hardness, 0.2% yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of magnesium. The average ductility of the composites was higher when compared with pure magnesium ≤0.75 vol.% and decreased thereafter. An attempt was made in the present study to correlate the presence of nano-size aluminum reinforcement particles and their increasing number with the microstructural, physical and mechanical properties of magnesium. © 2007 Acta Materialia Inc.