Wear Behaviour and Hardness of CNT Reinforced Alumina Composites

Alumina matrix composite enhanced with carbon nano-tubes was manufactured using the sol-gel method. Investigated were the effects of CNT varying concentrations from 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 wt% on alumina powders. Results demonstrate that reinforcement with 1 wt% CNTs was accountable for the increase in wear resistance and hardness. Due to improved load distribution of uniformly distributed carbon nano-tubes, the hardness of an alumina matrix composite supplemented with carbon nano-tubes was increased. Fabricated composites with improved wear properties result from homogeneous CNT distribution inside the Al2O3 matrix and a strong interfacial interaction between developed composite.