Synergetic effect of milling speed and duration on particle morphology and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline Al matrix containing SiC

ABSTRACT In the present study, the composite sheets were produced by powder rolling the ball-milled Al/SiC mixture. The effect of milling speed (350–550 rev min–1) and milling duration (8 and 12 h) on the Al particle morphology and subsequent mechanical properties were examined for composites with different volume fractions of SiC. From the microstructural investigation, SiC particles are evenly distributed and well dispersed in the Al matrix; those are prepared under higher milling speed (550 rev min–1) and higher milling time (12 h). Furthermore, the flattened-shaped particle morphology was obtained under lower milling conditions, whereas the reduced-granule shape was obtained under higher milling conditions (550 rev min–1, 12 h). Consequently, the Al/SiC composite sheets made from a granule-shaped Al/SiC mixture show higher density, microhardness, and tensile strength due to significant consolidation and SiC uniformity. In addition, the tensile strength of 430.26 MPa has been achieved for the Al/2vol.-%SiC sheet compared to pure Al (393.49 MPa) under similar processing conditions.