Enhancing compressive, tensile, thermal and damping response of pure Al using BN nanoparticles

In the present study, aluminum based metal matrix composites containing various amounts of boron nitride (BN) nanoparticulates (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 vol.%) were fabricated by using the powder metallurgy (PM) technique involving microwave sintering and hot extrusion process. The microstructure, physical, thermal, mechanical and damping characteristics of the extruded nanocomposites were investigated. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) study shows the evenly distributed BN particles in Al matrix. Mechanical analysis indicates that the compression, hardness and tensile strength of Al-BN nanocomposites increases with increasing amount of BN content. Particularly, a significant improvement in the tensile strength (∼36%) is achieved in Al-1.5 vol.% BN nanocomposite when compared to the pure aluminum (Al). This improvement strength can be attributed to the dispersion hardening of the Al matrix due to the presence of hard BN nanoparticles. Thermal analysis shows that the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) decreases with increasing amount of BN which may be ascribed to inherent low CTE of BN nanoparticles used as reinforcement. The addition of BN nanoparticulates enhanced the damping characteristics of pure Al with Al-1.5 vol.% BN nanocomposite exhibiting the maximum damping capacity and damping loss rate with a minimum change in elastic modulus. The improved combination of properties exhibited by Al-BN nanocomposites make them potential candidates for a wide spectrum of industries especially for weight critical applications.