Effects of ECAP on the mechanical properties of Mg-Al2O3 nanocomposites

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is the study of the effect of equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) on the mechanical properties of the Mg-Al2O3 nanocomposites. Magnesium and its alloys have excellent physical and mechanical properties for a number of applications. In particular its high strength: weight ratio makes it an ideal metal for automotive and aerospace applications, where weight reduction is of significant concern. Design/methodology/approach: Severe plastic deformation is a useful methodology to refine the grain size to the submicron or even nanometer size Findings: In the present work the influence of number of passes of ECAP by grain size, evolution of microstructure, mechanical properties and fracture of magnesium composites with different volume fraction of Al2O3 particles has been investigated by means of optical microscopy, tensile tests and scanning electron microscopy. Research limitations/implications: It has been found, that the grain size decreases with increasing number of passes. The mechanical properties of magnesium alloys are significantly influenced by the testing temperature leading to a decrease in the strength, by reinforcement and/or grain reinforcement leading to an increase in the strength. Originality/value: From previous studies, it was found that the MMCs using different size particles and different ECAP passes can improved the mechanical properties. But the research of Mg MMCs reinforcement with different wt.% nanoscale Al2O3 particles is not adequate.