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Microwave-assisted T6 heat treating of aluminium alloy-Al2O3 nanocomposites

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Abstract

Blending ultrafine-grained microstructure with other added reinforcement elements that can provide good strength-microstructural integrity is the primary metallurgical target for any developed composite to exhibit its maximum strength at reduced cost and energy in aerospace application. Such nano-reinforced aluminium alloy composites are processed through the addition of nano alumina using powder metallurgy route followed by microwave-assisted T6 heat treatment. Homogeneous nucleation by increasing the activation energy at the grain interface by the addition of nano alumina resulted in ultrafine-grained microstructure and significantly enhanced the mechanical properties like microhardness and strength of the fabricated nanocomposites.

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Funding

Funding was provided by AR&DB (DARO/08/2031699/M/I).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Swansea Campus, Wales, UK

    P. Ashwath

  2. Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India

    M. Anthony Xavior, P. Jeyapandiarajan & J. Joel

  3. Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Chennai, India

    R. Rajendran

  4. Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

    Andre D. L. Batako

Authors
  1. P. Ashwath
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  2. M. Anthony Xavior
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  3. R. Rajendran
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  4. Andre D. L. Batako
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  5. P. Jeyapandiarajan
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  6. J. Joel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. Ashwath.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Ashwath, P., Xavior, M.A., Rajendran, R. et al. Microwave-assisted T6 heat treating of aluminium alloy-Al2O3 nanocomposites. MRS Communications 12, 245–249 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-022-00169-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-022-00169-6

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