Influence of ZrO 2 nano particles on the behavior of mechanical and tribological properties of the AA7075 composite

• Published in: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part N, Journal of nanomaterials, nanoengineering and nanosystems Journal of nanomaterials, nanoengineering and nanosystems, 2022-03, Vol.236 (1-2), p.55-62
• Main Authors: Reddy, MS Prashanth, Raju, HP, Banapurmath, Nagaraj R, Meti, Vinod Kumar V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2397-7914; 2397-7922
• DOI: 10.1177/2397791420981525

A well-known AA7075 alloy used for most of the structural, aerospace, and automobile applications due to its excellent properties such as high strength, corrosion-resistant, and low density. To encourage industrialists, the physical and mechanical properties of the composite has to improve by reinforcing hard ceramic particles. In this investigation varying wt.% of hard ZrO 2 (zirconium dioxide) particles (0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, and 2 wt.%) are reinforced in AA7075 matrix alloy to form a composite. Motorized stir casting technique induced to distribute reinforcement particles homogeneously. The SEM micrographs reveal that uniform distribution of ZrO 2 particles can be achieved after inducing motorized stir casting technique into the molten composite. The experimental test results revealed that the addition of ZrO 2 particles enhanced the hardness and tensile strength of the AA7075/ZrO 2 composite as compared to base matrix material. Among all composites, AA7075/1.5ZrO 2 show higher hardness and strength.