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GNPs/Al nanocomposites with high strength and ductility and electrical conductivity fabricated by accumulative roll-compositing

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Abstract

Aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were fabricated by using an accumulative roll-compositing (ARC) process. Microstructure, mechanical and electrical properties of the nanostructured AMCs were characterized. The results showed that small addition (0.2 vol% and 0.5 vol%) of GNPs can lead to a simultaneous increase in the tensile strength and ductility of the GNPs/Al nanocomposites, as compared with the same processed pure Al. With increasing GNPs content, the tensile strength of the GNPs/Al nanocomposites can be enhanced to 387 MPa with retained elongation of 15%. Meanwhile, the GNPs/Al nanocomposites exhibited a good electrical conductivity of 77.8%–86.1% that of annealed pure Al. The excellent properties (high strength, high ductility and high conductivity) of the GNPs/Al are associated with the particular ARC process, which facilitates the uniform dispersion of GNPs in the matrix and formation of ultrafine-grained Al matrix. The strengthening and toughening of the GNPs/Al nanocomposites were discussed considering different mechanisms and the unique effect of GNPs.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51371128) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (No. 2042017KF0190).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Power and Mechanical Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Zi-Hao Chen, Han-Yu Hui, Cheng-Lin Li, Feng Chen, Xin-Ming Mei, Ye Ma & Qing-Song Mei

  2. School of Mechanical Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, 430023, China

    Ju-Ying Li

  3. Advanced Metals Division, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Changwon, 51508, Republic of Korea

    Seong-Woo Choi

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  1. Zi-Hao Chen
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  2. Han-Yu Hui
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Correspondence to Cheng-Lin Li or Qing-Song Mei.

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Chen, ZH., Hui, HY., Li, CL. et al. GNPs/Al nanocomposites with high strength and ductility and electrical conductivity fabricated by accumulative roll-compositing. Rare Met. 40, 2593–2601 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01695-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01695-9

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