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.