Role of hybrid nanoparticles on thermal, electrical conductivity, microstructure, and hardness behavior of nanocomposite matrix

In the current work, wrought AA2024 alloy sheets were used as the base metal matrix and reinforced with SiC, BN nanoparticles, and VC particles; hence, friction stir process FSP is utilized to fabricate the various mono and hybrid metal matrix nanocomposites. The novel triple hybrid reinforcement additives (AA2024/SiC_BN_VC) are successfully achieved; hence, the microstructure, hardness behavior, thermal and electrical conductivity are experimentally characterized. The hybrid nanocomposite hardness was improved by 63% compared to the as-received AA2024 base alloy. The distribution and dispersion of the hybrid nanoparticles were achieved in the microstructure observation of the composite matrix. The thermal conductivity of the hybrid composite is reduced by 60% and 30% compared to the base alloy and average value of mono composites, respectively. The role of reinforcement particles with different particle sizes significantly affects the electrical conductivity; hence, it is reduced as their volume fraction increased. (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

In this study, wrought AA2024 alloy sheets were used as the base metal matrix and reinforced with SiC, BN nanoparticles, and VC particles to fabricate mono and hybrid metal matrix nanocomposites through friction stir process. The hybrid nanocomposite exhibited improved hardness, enhanced microstructure distribution, and reduced thermal conductivity compared to the base alloy and mono composites. The electrical conductivity was significantly affected by the volume fraction of reinforcement particles with different sizes.