Thermo-Mechanical, Tribological and Microstructural Properties of Aluminium AA8011/B4C/Graphene Based Hybrid Composites

This paper investigates the thermo-mechanical and wear characterization of AA8011 aluminum alloy matrix based hybrid metal matrix composite reinforced with graphene and boron carbide (B4C) particles as reinforcement material. The weight percentage (wt.%) of graphene was maintained as 1 and wt.% of B4C was varied from 3 to 9 wt.% in steps of 3 wt.%. The influence of reinforcements and their wt.% on tensile, hardness, density, thermal and wear characteristics of AA8011 aluminum alloy matrix based hybrid metal matrix composite reinforced with graphene and boron carbide (B4C) particles were detailed. The morphology and microstructure of the composite specimens were interrogated through scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and optical microscope. The X-ray diffraction spectrum ensured the presence of graphene and B4C reinforcements and the AA8011 aluminum alloy matrix in the fabricated composite specimens. The graphene and B4C reinforcements in AA8011 aluminum alloy matrix improved the tensile, hardness and wear characteristics of composite specimens by 19.8, 36.1 and 50.9% respectively for the composite specimens with 1 wt.% graphene and 6 wt.% B4C reinforcements. The optimal wt.% of reinforcements maximize the grain boundaries resulting in better mechanical and wear characteristics.