ULTRASONIC PROCESSING OF 6061-BASED NANOCOMPOSITES FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE APPLICATIONS

摘要

Previously studies show that microstructure and mechanical properties of a cast component can be considerably improved when ceramic nanoparticles are used as a reinforcement to form a metal-matrix-nano-composite material. In the present study, 6061 nanocomposite castings were fabricated by using the ultrasonic stirring technology (UST). The 6061 alloy and Al_2O_3/SiC nanoparticles were used as the matrix alloy and the reinforcement materials, respectively. Nanoparticles were inserted into the molten metal and dispersed by ultrasonic cavitation and acoustic streaming. The microstructure, mechanical behavior and mechanical properties of the cast nanocomposites have been investigated in detail in this work. The current experimental results showed that the tensile strength, yield strength of the cast reinforced 6061 alloy with Al_2O_3 or SiC nanoparticles increased slightly while the elongation increased significantly.