An investigation on the compressibility of aluminum/nano-alumina composite powder prepared by blending and mechanical milling

The densification response of aluminum powder reinforced with 5 vol.% nanometric alumina particles (35 nm) during uniaxial compaction in a rigid die was studied. The composite powder was prepared by blending and mechanical milling procedures. To determine the effect of the reinforcement nanoparticles on the compressibility of aluminum powder, monolithic Al powder, i.e. without the addition of alumina, was also examined. It was shown that at the early stage of compaction when the rearrangement of particles is the dominant mechanism of the densification, disintegration of the nanoparticle clusters and agglomerates under the applied load contributes in the densification of the composite powder prepared by blending method. As the compaction pressure increases, however, the load partitioning effect of the nanoparticles decreases the densification rate of the powder mixture, resulting in a lower density compared to the monolithic aluminum. It was also shown that mechanical milling significantly impacts the compressibility of the unreinforced and reinforced aluminum powders. Morphological changes of the particles upon milling increase the contribution of particle rearrangement in densification whilst the plastic deformation mechanism is significantly retarded due to the work-hardening effect of the milling process. Meanwhile, the distribution of alumina nanoparticles is improved by mechanical milling, which in fact, affects the compressibility of the composite powder. This paper addresses the effect of mechanical milling and reinforcement nanoparticles on the compressibility of aluminum powder.