Abstract
Composite materials on the basis of A5 aluminum containing 0.01–0.1 wt % of carbon nanotubes (CNT) were obtained. The composite materials were fabricated by sand casting. Carbon nanotubes were added to the aluminum melt in the form of powdered mixture preliminarily produced using an AGO2S planetary ball mill. It was demonstrated that the CNT additions improved the ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of cast metal by 9 and 32%, respectively. The improvement of metal strength properties even at such a minor amount of nanotubes is determined not only by the inoculating effect but also by dispersion, dislocation, and, to a lesser extent, by reinforcing mechanisms of strengthening. For CNT content in aluminum equal to 0.01 wt %, the calculated yield strength agrees well with experimental values, whereas for CNT content equal to 0.05 and 0.1 wt %, the obtained strengthening is significantly lower than calculations, which can be attributed to agglomeration of nanotubes. The degree of conversion of carbon nanotubes into aluminum carbide as a consequence of interaction with aluminum melt is analyzed. It is demonstrated that less than 50% of carbon nanotubes are transformed into aluminum carbide during melting at 700–800°C. The fact that CNTs are not completely converted into carbide can be attributed to the fact that CNTs are arranged into bundles and only top layer of CNTs is in contact with the melt.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Belov, A.N. and Alabin, A.N., Prospective aluminum alloys with advanced heat resistance for armature constructions as an alternative to steels and cast irons, ArmaturoStroenie, 2010, no. 2 (65), pp. 50–54.
Senatorova, O.G., Grushko, O.E., Tkachenko, E.A., Antipov, V.V., Molotova, I.I., Sidel’nikov, V.V., and Legoshina, S.F., New high strength aluminum alloys and materials, Tekhnol. Legk. Splavov, 2007, no. 2, pp. 17–24.
Srinivasa, R.B. and Agarwal, A., An analysis of the factors affecting strengthening in carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum composites, Carbon, 2011, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 533–544.
Kashyap, K.T., Koppad, P.G., Puneeth, K.B., Aniruddha Ram, H.R., and Mallikarjuna, H.M., Elastic modulus of multiwalled carbon nanotubes reinforced aluminium matrix nanocomposites—a theoretical approach, Comput. Mater. Sci., 2011, no. 50, pp. 2493–2495.
George, R., Kashyap, K.T., Rahul, R., and Yamdagnia, S., Strengthening in carbon nanotube/aluminium (CNT/Al) composites, Scr. Mater., 2005, vol. 53, no. 10, pp. 1159–1163.
Choi, H.J., Shin, J.H., and Bae, D.H., Grain size effect on the strengthening behavior of aluminum-based composites containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes, Compos. Sci. Technol., 2011, vol. 71, no. 15, pp. 1699–1705.
Kwon, H., Park, D.H., Silvain, J.F., and Kawasaki, A., Investigation of carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum matrix composite materials, Compos. Sci. Technol., 2010, vol. 70, no. 3, pp. 546–550.
Oh, S.-I., Lim, J.-Y., Kim, Y.-C., Yoon, J., Kim, G.-H., Lee, J., Sung, Y.-M., and Han, J.-H., Fabrication of carbon nanofiber reinforced aluminum alloy nanocomposites by a liquid process, J. Alloys Compd., 2012, vol. 542, pp. 111–117.
Mansoor, M. and Shahid, M., Fractographic evaluation of crack initiation and growth in Al-CNTs nanocomposite fabricated by induction melting, Acta Phys. Pol., A, 2015, vol. 128, no. 2, pp. B276–B278.
Yang, X., Shi, C., He, C., Liu, E., Li, J., and Zhao, N., Synthesis of uniformly dispersed carbon nanotube reinforcement in Al powder for preparing reinforced Al composites, Composites, Part A, 2010, vol. 42, no. 11, pp. 1833–1839.
Liao, J.-Z., Tan, M.-J., and Sridhar, I., Spark plasma sintered multi-wall carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum matrix composites, Mater. Des., 2010, vol. 31, suppl, 1, pp. S96–S100.
Girishal, L. and Raji, G., Study on properties of multi walled carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum matrix composite through casting technique, Int. J. Eng. Res. Technol., 2014, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 1372–1375.
Esawi, A.M.K., Morsi, K., Sayed, A., Taher, M., and Lanka, S., The influence of carbon nanotube (CNT) morphology and diameter on the processing and properties of CNT-reinforced aluminium composites, Composites, Part A, 2011, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 234–243.
Jiang, L., Li, Z., Fan, G., Cao, L., and Zhang, D., CNT/aluminum composites with a homogenous CNT distribution, Carbon, 2012, vol. 50, no. 5, pp. 1993–1998.
Nam, D.H., Cha, S.I., Lim, B.K., Park, H.M., Han, D.S., and Hong, S.H., CNT/Al–Cu composites, Carbon, 2012, vol. 50, no. 7, pp. 2417–2423.
Deng, C.F., Wang, D.Z., Zhang, X.X., and Li, A.B., Processing and properties of carbon nanotubes reinforced aluminum composites, Mater. Sci. Eng., A, 2007, vol. 444, pp. 138–145.
Abou Bakr Hamed, Khattab, A., Osman, T.A., Azzam, B., and Zaki, M., A novel technique for dispersion of MWCNTs in aluminum alloys, Minia J. Eng. Technol., 2014, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 229–234.
Rashad, R.M., Awadallah, O.M., and Wifi, A.S., Effect of MWCNTs content on the characteristics of A356 nanocomposite, J. Arch. Mater. Manuf. Eng., 2013, vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 74–80.
Abou Bakr Elshalakany, Osman, T.A., Khattab, A., Azzam, B., and Zaki, M., Microstructure and mechanical properties of MWCNTs reinforced A356 aluminum alloys cast nanocomposites fabricated by using a combination of rheocasting and squeeze casting techniques, Hindawi Publ. Corp. J. Nanomater., 2014, vol. 2014, art. ID 386370, p. 14
Senthamaraia, K. and Marimuthu, P., Experimental investigation on microstructure and mechanical behavior of stir cast metal matrix composite AA6061 with MWCNT, Int. J. Adv. Eng. Technol., 2016, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 1115–1117.
Yana, H. and Qiu, H., Fabrication of carbon nanotube reinforced A356 nanocomposites, J. Mater. Res., 2016, vol. 31, no. 15, pp. 2277–20283.
Stein, J., Lenczowski, B., Fréty, N., and Anglaret, E., Mechanical reinforcement of a high-performance aluminium alloy AA5083 with homogeneously dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotubes, Carbon, 2012, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 2264–2272.
Deng, C., Zhang, X.X., Wang, D., Lin, Q., and Li, A., Preparation and characterization of carbon nanotubes/aluminum matrix composites, Mater. Lett., 2007, vol. 61, nos. 8–9, pp. 1725–1728.
Abbasipour, B., Niroumand, B., and Monir Vagheffi, S.M., Compocasting of A356-CNT composite, Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc. China, 2010, vol. 20, no. 9, pp. 1561–1566.
Singlaa, D., Amulyaa, K., and Murtaza, Q., CNT reinforced aluminum matrix composite—a review, Mater. Today, 2015, vol. 2, nos. 4–5, pp. 2886–2895.
Tjong, S.C., Recent progress in the development and properties of novel metal matrix nanocomposites reinforced with carbon nanotubes and grapheme nanosheets, Mater. Sci. Eng., R, 2013, vol. 74, no. 10, pp. 281–350.
Nayan, N., Murty, S.V.S.N., Sharma, S.C., Sree Kumar, K., and Sinha, P.P., Calorimetric study on mechanically milled aluminum and multiwall carbon nanotube composites, Mater. Charact., 2011, vol. 62, no. 11, pp. 1087–1093.
Zhou, W., Bang, S., Kurita, H., Miyazaki, T., Fan, Y., and Kawasaki, A., Interface and interfacial reactions in multi-walled carbon nanotube-reinforced aluminum matrix composites, Carbon, 2016, vol. 96, pp. 919–928.
So, K.P., Jeong, J.C., and Park, J.G., SiC formation on carbon nanotube surface for improving wettability with aluminum, Compos. Sci. Technol., 2013, vol. 74, pp. 6–13.
Arai, S., Suzuki, Y., Nakagawa, J., Yamamoto, T., and Endo, M., Fabrication of metal coated carbon nanotubes by electroless deposition for improved wettability with molten aluminum, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2012, vol. 212, pp. 207–213.
Zeng, X., Zhou, G.H., Xu, Q., Xiong, Y., Luo, C., and Wu, J., A new technique for dispersion of carbon nanotube in a metal melt, Mater. Sci. Eng., A, 2010, vol. 527, no. 20, pp. 5335–5340.
Mansoor, M. and Shahid, M., Tribological properties of MWCNTs strengthened aluminum composite fabricated by induction melting, Adv. Mater. Res., 2015, vol. 1101, pp. 62–65.
OCSiAl Company. http://www.ocsial.com.
Kwon, H., Estili, M., Takagi, K., Miyazaki, T., and Kawasaki, A., Combination of hot extrusion and spark plasma sintering for producing carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum matrix composites, Carbon, 2009, vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 570–577.
Ci, L., Ryu, Z., Jin-Phillipp, N.Y., and Rühle, M., Investigation of the interfacial reaction between multiwalled carbon nanotubes and aluminum, Acta Mater., 2006, vol. 54, no. 20, pp. 5367–5375.
Chernyshova, T.A., Kobeleva, L.I., Shebo, P., and Panfilov, A.V., Vzaimodeistvie metallicheskikh rasplavov s armiruyushchimi napolnitelyami (Interaction of Metal Melts with Reinforcing Fillers), Moscow: Nauka, 1993.
Prikhod’ko, V.M., Petrova, L.G., and Chudina, O.V., Metallofizicheskie osnovy razrabotki uprochnyayushchikh tekhnologii (Metallophysical Basis for Development of Reinforcing Technologies), Moscow: Mashinostroenie, 2003.
Park, J.G., Keum, D.H., and Lee, Y.H., Strengthening mechanisms in carbon nanotube-reinforced aluminum composites, Carbon, 2015, vol. 95, pp. 690–698.
Hatch, J.E., Aluminum: Properties and Physical Metallurgy, Metals Park, Oh: Am. Soc. Met., 1984.
Koshkin, N.I. and Shirkevich, M.G., Spravochnik po elementarnoi fizike (Handbook on elementary physics), Moscow: Nauka, 1972.
Arsenault, R.J. and Shi, N., Dislocation generation due to differences between the coefficients of thermal expansion, Mater. Sci. Eng., 1986, vol. 81, pp. 175–187.
Kikoin, I.K., Tablitsy fizicheskikh velichin (Tables of Physical Values), Moscow: Atomizdat, 1976.
Deng, L., Young, R.J., Kinloch, I.A., Sun, R., Zhang, G., Noe, L., and Monthioux, M., Coefficient of thermal expansion of carbon nanotubes measured by Raman spectroscopy, Appl. Phys. Lett., 2014, vol. 104, art. ID 051907, pp. 1–4.
Ryu, H.J., Cha, S.I., and Hong, S.H., Generalized shear-lag model for load transfer in SiC/Al metalmatrix composites, J. Mater. Res., 2003, vol. 18, no. 12, pp. 2851–2858.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © A.V. Alekseev, D.Yu. Dubov, M.R. Predtechenskiy, 2017, published in Perspektivnye Materialy, 2017, No. 8, pp. 40–52.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alekseev, A.V., Dubov, D.Y. & Predtechenskiy, M.R. Influence of Carbon Nanotubes on Mechanical Properties of Cast Aluminum, Grade A5. Inorg. Mater. Appl. Res. 9, 270–278 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2075113318020028
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S2075113318020028