MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF ALUMINUM GRAPHENE COMPOSITE AS A RESULT OF THERMO MECHANICAL TREATMENT

Abstract

With all the superlative properties, like, high strength to weight ratio, fracture strength, Young’s modulus, good thermal and electrical property, graphene has held the desirability for the replacement with the existing materials in the field of aerospace, electronics and automobiles. Thus, graphene is a potential candidate to be used as reinforcement in light weight metal matrix composite, like aluminum. In the present study, aluminum matrix composite, with varied composition of graphene nano-platelets (GNP), was synthesized by spark plasma sintering to near theoretical densities. They were further analyzed by X-Ray diffraction to detect presence of any oxides or carbides during consolidation. It is seen that addition of GNP upto some extent is improving the strength and hardness of the material. These composites were further cold rolled and warm rolled (i.e. at 250℃) by thermo-mechanical processing (TMP) to examine the change in properties. The microstructural evolution, taking place under severe plastic deformation, is analyzed. The change in the mechanical properties of Al/GNP due to the effect of rolling strain and temperature, is evaluated by tensile testing and nano-indentation measurements. The main reasons stimulating grain refinement at this temperature and the relative contribution of different strengthening effect is analyzed in detail