Abstract
In the present study, the densification response of Al matrix reinforced with different weight percentages (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 wt.%) of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) was studied. These composites were produced by a wet method followed by a conventional powder metallurgy. The Raman spectrum of graphene indicates that preparation of the composites through the wet mixing method did not affect the disordering and defect density in the GNPs structure. The nanocomposite powder mixture was consolidated via a cold uniaxial compaction. The samples were sintered at different temperatures (540, 580 and 620 °C) under nitrogen flow so as to assess the sinterability of the nanocomposites. X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been carried out to check the possible reaction between GNPs and aluminum. According to the XRD patterns, it seems that Al4C3 did not form during the fabrication process. The relative density, compressibility, sinterability and Vickers hardness of the nanocomposites were also evaluated. The effects of GNPs on the consolidation behavior of the matrix were studied using the Heckel, Panelli and Ambrosio Filho, and Ge equations. The outcomes show that at early stage of consolidation the rearrangement of particles is dominant, while by increasing the compaction pressure, due to the load partitioning effect of GNPs, the densification rate of the powder mixture decreases. Moreover, the fabricated nanocomposites exhibited high Vickers hardness of 67 HV5, which is approximately 50% higher than monolithic aluminum. The effect of graphene addition on the thermal conductivity of Al/GNPs nanocomposites was evaluated by means of thermal diffusivity measurement, and the results showed that the higher thermal conductivity can be only achieved at lower graphene content.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
D.B. Miracle, Metal Matrix Composites from Science to Technological Significance, Compos. Sci. Technol., 2005, 65(15–16), p 2526–2540
W.C. Harrigan, Jr., Commercial Processing of Metal Matrix Composites, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 1998, 244(1), p 75–79
I.A. Ibrahim, F.A. Mohamed, and E.J. Lavernia, Particulate Reinforced Metal Matrix Composites—A Review, J. Mater. Sci., 1991, 26, p 1137–1156
J.W. Kaczmar, K. Pietrzak, and W. Wlosinski, The Production and Application of Metal Matrix Composite Materials, J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2000, 106, p 58–67
X.J. Xin, P. Jayaraman, G. Jiang, and R.H. Wagoner, Explicit Finite Element Method Simulation of Consolidation of Monolithic and Composite Powders, Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 2002, 33A, p 2649–2658
J.M. Torralba, C.E. da Costa, and F. Velasco, P/M Aluminum Matrix Composites: An Overview, J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2003, 133(1–2), p 203–206
B. Ogel and R. Gurbuz, Microstructural Characterization and Tensile Properties of Hot Pressed Al–SiC Composites Prepared From Pure Al and Cu Powders, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2001, 301, p 213–220
R. Pérez-Bustamante, D. Bolnos-Morales, and J. Bonilla-Martinez, Microstructural and Hardness Behavior of Graphene-Nanoplatelets/Aluminum Composites Synthesized by Mechanical Alloying, J. Alloy. Compd., 2014, 615, p S578–S582
A. Saboori, M. Pavese, P. Fino, C. Badini, A novel method to homogeneously disperse Graphene nanoplateletes in Aluminium matrix, EuroPM 2015, Reims Congress Centre, Reims, France, 4-7 October 2015
J. Van Der Zwan and C.A.M. Siskens, The Compaction and Mechanical Properties of Agglomerated Materials, Powder Technol., 1982, 33(1), p 43–54
C. Padmavathi and A. Upadhyaya, Densification, Microstructure and Properties of Supersolidus Liquid Phase Sintered 6711 Al–Sic Metal Matrix Composites, Sci. Sinter., 2010, 42, p 363–382
MYu Balshin and V. Metalloprom, Theory Compact, Vestnik Metalloprom., 1938, 18, p 124–137
R.W. Heckel, Density-Pressure Relationships in Powder Compaction, Trans. Metall. Soc. AIME, 1961, 221, p 671–675
E.E. Walker, The Properties of Powders. Part VI. The Compressibility of Powders, Trans. Faraday Soc., 1923, 19, p 73–82
A.R. Cooper and L.E. Eaton, Compaction Behaviour of Some Ceramic Powders, J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 1962, 45(3), p 97–101
K. Kawakita and K. Ludde, Some Considerations on Powder Compression Equations, Powder Technol., 1971, 4, p 61–68
R. Panelli and F. Ambrosio Filho, A Study of a New Phenomenological Compacting Equation, Powder Technol., 1971, 114, p 255–261
R. Ge, Int. J. Powder Metall., 1991, 27(3), p 211–216
S.M. Doraivelu, H.L. Gegel, J.S. Gunasekera, J.C. Malas, J.T. Morgan, and J.F. Thomas, Jr., A new Yield Function for Compressible P M Materials, Int. J. Mech. Sci., 1984, 26(9–10), p 527–535
E. Arzt, The Influence of An Increasing Particle Coordination on the Densification of Spherical Powders, Acta Metall., 1982, 30, p 1883–1890
M.F. Ashby, Cambridge University Engineering Department Report, Cambridge, (1990).
H.F. Fischmeister and E. Arzt, Densification of Powders by Particle Deformation, Powder Metall., 1983, 26, p 82–88
H.S. Helle, K.E. Easterling, and M.F. Ashby, Hot-isostatic Pressing Diagrams: New Developments, Acta Metall. Mater., 1985, 33, p 2163–2174
N.A. Fleck, L.T. Kuhn, and R.M. McMeeking, Yielding of Metal Powder Bonded by Isolated Contacts, Phys. Solids, 1992, 40, p 1139–1162
N.A. Fleck, On the Cold Compaction of Powders, J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 1995, 43, p 1409–1431
F.F. Lange, L. Atteraas, F. Zok, and J.R. Porter, Deformation Consolidation of Metal Powders Containing Steel Inclusions, Acta Metall. Mater., 1991, 39, p 209–219
A.L. Gurson, T.J. McCabe, Adv. Powder Metall. Part. Mater., vol. 2, MPIF, Princeton, NJ, 1992, pp. 133–145.
K.T. Kim, S.C. Lee, and H.S. Ryu, Densification Behavior of Aluminum Alloy Powder Mixed with Zirconia Powder Inclusion Under Cold Compaction, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2003, 340, p 41–48
A.H. Tavakoli, A. Simchi, and S.M. Seyed, Reihani, Study of the Compaction Behavior of Composite Powders Under Monotonic and Cyclic Loading, Compos. Sci. Technol., 2005, 65, p 2094–2104
A. Wagih, A. Fathy, T.A. Sebaey, Experimental Investigation on the Compressibility of Al/Al2O3 Nanocomposite. Int J Mater Prod Technol. 52(3–4) (2016)
A.C. Ferrari and J. Robertson, Resonant Raman Spectroscopy of Disordered, Amorphous, and Diamondlike Carbon, Phys. Rev. B, 2001, 64, p 075414
T.M.G. Mohiuddin, A. Lombardo, R.R. Nair, A. Bonetti, G. Savini, R. Jalil, N. Bonini, D.M. Basko, C. Galiotis, N. Marzari, K.S. Novoselov, A.K. Geim, and A.C. Ferrari, Uniaxial Strain in Graphene by Raman Spectroscopy: G Peak Splitting, Grüneisen Parameters, and Sample Orientation, Phys. Rev. B, 2009, 79(20), p 205433
P.J. Denny, Compaction Equations: A Comparison of the Heckel and Kawakita Equations, Powder Technol., 2002, 127, p 162–172
H.R. Hafizpour, A. Simchi, and S. Parvizi, Analysis of the Compaction Behavior of Al–SiC Nanocomposites Using Linear and Non-Linear Compaction Equations, Adv. Powder Technol., 2010, 21, p 273–278
K. Gan and M. Gu, The Compressibility of Cu/SiCp Powder Prepared by High-Energy Ball Milling, J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2008, 62, p 282–285
D. Jeyasimman, S. Sivasankaran, K. Sivaprasad, R. Narayanasamy, and R.S. Kambali, An Investigation of Synthesis, Consolidation and Mechanical Behaviour of Al 6061 Nanocomposites Reinforced by TiC via Mechanical Alloying, Mater. Des., 2014, 57, p 394–404
R.A. Rapp and X. Zheng, Thermodynamic Consideration of Grain Refinement of Aluminum Alloys by Titanium and Carbon, J. Metall. Trans. A, 1991, A22, p 3071–3075
L. Ci, Z. Ryu, N.Y. Jin-Phillipp, and M. Rühle, Investigation of the Interfacial Reaction between Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Aluminum, Acta Mater., 2006, 54, p 5367–5375
C. Suryanarayana, E. Ivanov, and V.V. Boldyrev, The Science and Technology of Mechanical Alloying, Mater. Sci. Eng., 2001, A304–306, p 151–158
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Saboori, A., Novara, C., Pavese, M. et al. An Investigation on the Sinterability and the Compaction Behavior of Aluminum/Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs) Prepared by Powder Metallurgy. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 26, 993–999 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-017-2522-0
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-017-2522-0