Enhancing strength and ductility of magnesium by integrating it with aluminum nanoparticles

Nano-size aluminum powder (Al-p) reinforced magnesium composites were successfully synthesized using a powder metallurgy technique. Microstructural characterization of the materials revealed fairly uniform distribution of reinforcement. Mechanical properties characterization revealed that the presence of aluminum nanoparticles <= 1 vol.% leads to an increase in hardness, 0.2%, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of magnesium. The average ductility of the composites was higher when compared with pure magnesium <= 0.75 vol.% and decreased thereafter. An attempt was made in the present study to correlate the presence of nano-size aluminum reinforcement particles and their increasing number with the micro structural, physical and mechanical properties of magnesium. (c) 2007 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.