Effect of nano-ZrO₂ particulates reinforcement on microstructure and mechanical behavior of solidification processed elemental Mg

In the present study, elemental and nano-ZrO₂ particulates reinforced magnesium materials were synthesized using an innovative disintegrated melt deposition technique followed by hot extrusion. Microstructural characterization of the composite samples showed retention of reinforcement, significant grain refinement of magnesium matrix, and the presence of minimal porosity. Mechanical properties characterization revealed that the presence of nano-ZrO₂ reinforcement lead to significant improvement in hardness, 0.2% yield strength and UTS but adversely affected ductility. The results further revealed that the combination of 0.2% yield strength, UTS, and ductility exhibited by nano-ZrO₂ reinforced magnesium remained much superior even when compared to magnesium reinforced with much higher volume percentage of micron-size SiC_P. An attempt is made in the present study to correlate the effect of nano-ZrO₂ as reinforcement and its increasing amount with the microstructural and mechanical properties of magnesium.