Effect of submicron size Al₂O₃ particulates on microstructural and tensile properties of elemental Mg

In the present study, elemental and 0.3 μm size Al₂O₃ particulates-reinforced magnesium materials were synthesized using disintegrated melt deposition technique followed by hot extrusion. Microstructural characterization of the composite samples showed fairly uniform reinforcement distribution with good reinforcement-matrix interfacial integrity, significant grain refinement and the presence of minimal porosity. Tensile properties characterization revealed that the presence of submicron-Al₂O₃ reinforcement led to significant improvement in 0.2%YS, and UTS. However, ductility and work of fracture of the composites remain higher with the addition of submicron-Al₂O₃ particulates up to 1.1 vol%. The results further revealed that the combination of 0.2% yield strength and UTS exhibited by 0.3 μm size Al₂O₃ reinforced magnesium remained much superior even when compared to magnesium reinforced with nano-size Al₂O₃ and micron size SiC. An attempt is made in the present study to correlate the effect of submicron-Al₂O₃ as reinforcement and its increasing amount with the microstructural and tensile properties of magnesium.