Influence of GNPs and B4C reinforcements on mechanical, thermal and wear properties of magnesium matrix composite produced by powder metallurgy

In this study, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and boron carbide (B4C) nano reinforcements were incorporated to the pure magnesium (Mg). Powder metallurgy route was used to fabricate composite samples. Microstructures of specimens were examined and tensile, hardness, wear tests were performed to determine the mechanical and tribological performance of produced samples. The results indicate that the hardness was increased especially with the addition of 2% B4C and 0.5% GNPs reinforcements. A general trend was observed for the enhancements of yield and tensile strengths when nano reinforcements were added to the pure magnesium. The composite samples showed better wear resistance than the unreinforced sample. However, thermal conductivity began to decrease with the addition of B4C reinforcements. It is also observed that the porosity level was also higher for the composite samples.

Preparation and Thermal Properties of BN and LPSO Hybrid Reinforced Magnesium Matrix Composite

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a ceramic material with high thermal conductivity (TC) and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), which can improve multiple thermal properties of metal-matrix composites as a reinforcing particle, but its wettability with metal melt is very poor. In order to enhance the wettability between the h-BN and magnesium alloy melt, the electroless plating was used to coat a thin layer of pure nickel on h-BN particles, which was proved to be effective and efficient in this study. The results showed that by adding Y element to magnesium alloy melt to consume Ni element melted from the nickel-plating layer, the long period stacking ordered (LPSO) structure composed of Mg-Ni-Y was successfully formed, and the magnesium matrix composite reinforced by hybrid h-BN and LPSO structure was obtained. After ultrasonic treatment (UT), the TC of the magnesium composite containing 3 vol% h-BN and 14.16 vol% LPSO is 99.92 W/(m·K), which is a 8.3% enhancement compare to the composite without UT. The average CTE (293-373 K) of the composite is 18.36×10-6 K-1, which is reduced by 29.4% compared with pure magnesium.