In this study ball milling of Al356 and Al2O3 powder mixture was carried out in order to produce Al356-Al2O3 nano-composite containing 20 vol.% Al2O3. The structural evolution and morphological changes of powder particles during ball milling were studied by X-ray diffractometery and scanning electron microscopy analysis. As a result of ball milling Al2O3 particles were uniformly dispersed in Al356 matrix. Furthermore the crystallite size of the Al356 decreased to 25 nm after ball milling for 10 h. Morphological studies of powder particles indicated that the powder particle size continuously decreases with increasing milling time. Hardness and elastic modulus values of powder particles were measured by nanoindentation method. It was found that the hardness and elastic modulus of Al356-20 vol.% Al2O3 nanocomposite were about 216 Hv and 86 GPa, respectively which is higher than 75 Hv and 74 GPa for as-received Al356.
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