Enhancing physical and mechanical properties of Mg using nanosized Al₂O₃ particulates as reinforcement

A magnesium-based composite with 1.1 volume percentage of nanosized Al₂O₃ particulates reinforcement was fabricated using an innovative disintegrated melt deposition technique followed by hot extrusion. Al₂O₃ particulates with an equivalent size of 50 nm were used as reinforcement. Microstructural characterization of the materials revealed grain refinement of magnesium matrix due to incorporation, retention, and uniform distribution of reinforcement. Physical properties characterization revealed that the addition of nano-Al₂O₃ particulates as reinforcement improves the dimensional stability of pure magnesium. Mechanical properties characterization revealed that the presence of nano-Al₂O₃ particulates as reinforcement leads to a significant increase in microhardness, dynamic elastic modulus, 0.2 pct yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and ductility of pure magnesium. The results revealed that the combined tensile properties of these materials are superior when compared to Mg reinforced with much higher volume percentage of SiC. An attempt is made in the present study to correlate the effect of nano-Al₂ O₃ particulates as reinforcement with the microstructural, physical, and mechanical properties of magnesium.