Mechanical reinforcement of a high-performance aluminium alloy AA5083 with homogeneously dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Julien Stein (1, 2, 3) , Blanka Lenczowski (2) , Nicole Fréty (3) , Eric Anglaret (1)

1 L2C - Laboratoire Charles Coulomb
2 EADS IW - EADS Innovation Works [Munich]
3 ICGM ICMMM - Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier - Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux de Montpellier

Dense and homogeneous multi-walled carbon nanotube/metal composites are prepared by powder metallurgy. The distribution of the nano-reinforcements in the matrix is studied by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The mechanical properties of the composites are determined by means of static tensile tests and Vickers micro-hardness measurements. We show that a homogeneous dispersion of the nanotubes at the micron scale is required in order to improve the mechanical properties of the metal matrix composite. This can be achieved using ball-milling through the mechanisms of plastic deformation and cold-welding. Accordingly, we report significant improvements to the mechanical properties of composites prepared with a high-performance aluminium alloy AA5083 matrix.

Domaines: Matériaux

Julien Stein, Blanka Lenczowski, Nicole Fréty, Eric Anglaret. Mechanical reinforcement of a high-performance aluminium alloy AA5083 with homogeneously dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Carbon, 2012, 50 (6), pp.2264-2272. ⟨10.1016/j.carbon.2012.01.044⟩. ⟨hal-00734896⟩