Effect of reinforcement on mechanical characteristics of A356 alloy nanocomposites

Nanocomposites with aluminum base reinforced with nanoparticles, have wide application in many industries, for example, aerospace, marine, automobile, due to its lightweight, high tensile strength and high wear resistance, etc. The study of the microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of the nanocomposite is very important in order to reliably and optimally carry out the design of new materials. In this study for the mechanical characterization of the A356 composites with a ceramic particle reinforcements nanoindentation was performed. Nanoindentaion is largely used for the analysis of mechanical properties. The samples of the nanocomposites were developed using 0, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 wt.% SiC, with an average size of particles of about 50 nm, produced by a compocasting process with pre-processing mechanical alloying. Nanoindentation was carried out based on Berkovich's test method with the indenter in shape of three sided diamond pyramid. The nanocomposite testing showed that the nanocomposites containing 0.5 wt.% of the reinforcement have slightly higher tensile strength and a lower value of the elastic modulus compared to the aluminum alloy base.