Microstructural and Mechanical Behavior of Al6061-Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites

In this paper, the mechanical properties and microstructure of Al6061-graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites material, produced by stir casting and hot rolling process have been investigated. In order to make composite samples, GO nanoplates with various weight percents of 0.2, 0.5 and 0.8% were added to the molten Al6061 through the stir casting process. Then the cast composite slabs were hot rolled at 530 °C. Tensile and hardness tests were used to study the mechanical properties of nanocomposite specimens. The microstructures of samples were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopes. The scanning electron microscope images and energy dispersive spectroscopy map analyses showed that the GO nanoplates have been uniformly distributed within the Al matrix. The mechanical test results showed considerable improvements in the hardness (by 41%), yield strength (by 43%), tensile strength (by 38%), ductility (by 58%) and toughness (by 116%) of the composite samples with respect to the base alloy. Studying the fracture surface also showed that ductile fracture is the dominant mechanism of fracture in all the specimens.