Mechanically Alloyed Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) Reinforced Nanocrystalline AA 4032: Synthesis and Characterization

M.S. Senthil Saravanan, S.P. Kumaresh Babu, K. Sivaprasad

Advanced Materials processing laboratory,Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering,National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli- 620 015, India.

DOI: 10.4236/jmmce.2010.911074                

Abstract

Powder metallurgy has emerged as a promising technique to develop carbon nanotubes reinforced metal matrix composites. In this work, high energy ball mill was used to disperse multi-walled carbon nanotubes in AA 4032 alloy. The nanocrystalline nature of AA 4032 was obtained by milling the elemental powders for 30 hours. Different mass fractions of carbon nanotubes were added in the matrix at end of 29th hour. The phase evolution and changes in crystallite size and lattice strain were analyzed using X- ray diffractometer (XRD). SEM analysis reveals the morphological changes during the milling process. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies reveal the presence of CNTs in the matrix and evidenced the uniform distribution of CNTs inside the matrix.

Keywords

Multi walled carbon nanotubes, Nanocrystalline, AA 4032, XRD, SEM and TEM

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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