Influence of Zirconia Percent on Physical Properties of Zirconia - Aluminum Chip Matrix (Al6061) Nanocomposites

This research intends to propose a new approach to improve the performance of aluminium composites made of chips with the addition of ZrO2 nanoparticles. Moreover, the chip-based composite-reinforced ZrO2 contents offer alternative sources to manufacturing automotive industries to recycle, reuse the machined materials as a secondary source of metal, and protect our earth from greenhouse gas for a sustainable life. This study focused on examining the effects of preheating time (t), preheating temperature (T), and volume fraction (VF) on the mechanical and physical properties of a ZrO2 aluminium chips nanocomposite. This nanocomposite was produced through the hot extrusion method followed by ECAP to compare the result with heat treatment. The influence of each factor was analysed using the factorial design, followed by RSM. The microstructure and the average grain sizes of the extrudates were also investigated. Direct solid-states, such as hot extrusion and equal channel angular pressing (ECAP), are alternative and efficient solid-state processes for use in recycling aluminium scrap. These processes utilise less energy and are eco-friendly. Ceramic nanoparticles such as ZrO2 are suggested as alternatives in the production of metal composites. This study investigated and optimised the effects of various parameters of reinforced ZrO2 nanoparticles on the mechanical and physical properties via response surface methodology (RSM). In this study, the nanocomposites made of aluminum AA6061 chips reinforced with 5%, 10%, and 15% volume fraction of ZrO2 powder were produced under different processing temperature of 450°C, 500°C and 550°C. The experimental results were analyzed using the design and analysis of experiments (DOE) principle, and assisted by the Minitab 18 software. It was reported that the maximum yield strength and hardness increased to 119.26 MPa and 65.25 VH compared to 100.26 MPa and 50 VH (as-received AA6061), respectively.