Development of a novel magnesium/nickel composite with improved mechanical properties

In the present study, commercially pure magnesium reinforced with 3.2 vol% of nickel, where 1.3 vol% percentage remained in elemental form, was fabricated using an innovative disintegrated melt deposition technique followed by hot extrusion. Microstructural characterization of the composite samples showed uniform distribution of nickel particulates in the matrix material, minimal porosity and defect free Ni_p/Mg interface associated with Mg-Ni based intermetallics. Mechanical properties characterization revealed that the presence of nickel as reinforcement lead to a significant increase in elastic modulus, 0.2% yield strength and UTS of pure magnesium while the ductility was adversely affected. An attempt is made in the present study to correlate the effect of nickel as reinforcement with the microstructural and mechanical properties of magnesium.