A Review on Properties, Behaviour and Processing Methods for Al- Nano Al2O3 Composites

Nanotechnology is spreading vastly in the various demanding fields of engineering and medicines like aerospace, defence, automobiles, electronics, materials, chemistry, energy, environment, information & communication, consumer goods and bio- technology. It created a high impact on development of new generation nano materials with advanced features and wide range of their applications. Reinforcement of submicron or nano-sized particles with aluminium matrix yields superior mechanical and physical properties and changes morphology and interfacial characteristics of nano-composites. A wide range of research has been done on the processing methods and material properties of Al-Al2O3 nano-composites. Recently, ultrasonic assisted casting, nano-sintering, powder metallurgy, high energy ball milling, friction stir process are being applied for the production of Al-Al2O3 nano-composites in which agglomeration of the reinforcing particles causes grain growth resulting changes in the microstructure. Control of the grain size by minimizing agglomeration of nano particles and retaining the enhanced microstructure during these processes has become a challenging task. This area is further looked-for research work to control the microstructures under various processing conditions.