Accomplishments
Fabrication and characterization of cold-pressed and sintered Aluminium - MWCNT composites
- Abstract
In the present article aluminium matrix composites were fabricated by cold pressing and sintering technique. Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) with various weight percentage 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 were added as a reinforcement to aluminium (Al) matrix. A planetary ball mill was used for mechanical alloying and even dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in aluminium matrix. Tin (Sn) with 1.0 weight percent was used in composite to incite the sintering. The sintering was carried out at 500°C inside a tube furnace in an argon atmosphere. The morphology and structure of CNT and Al-Sn-CNT composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The effect of MWCNT reinforcement on microhardness and wear properties of Al-Sn-CNT composite was investigated. The hardness of composites was improved significantly with increase in CNT fraction. The reduction in the coefficient of friction and improvement in the wear resistance of the Al-Sn-CNT composite was noticed with the increase in percentage of CNTs in the composite.