Synthesis and characterisation of graphene-reinforced AA 2014 MMC using squeeze casting method for lightweight aerospace structural applications.

Pazhani, Ashwath; Venkatraman, M.; Anthony Xavior, M.; Moganraj, Arivarasu; Batako, Andre; Paulsamy, Jeyapandiarajan; Jayaseelan, Joel; Anbalagan, Arivazhagan; Shanthi Bavan, Jayesh

Abstract

The need for lightweight materials towards aerospace has increased prominently. This paper focuses on introducing a novel reinforcement mixture of graphene with Al 2014 powder synthesised through ball milling technique. The synthesized powder was utilized as a reinforcement to fabricate Al 2014 based MMCs through squeeze casting technique. The results exhibited that Al 2014 mixture with embedded and interlocked 2D-Grnp (2.517 g/cm3) matched the density of the matrix metal (2.771 g/cm3) that facilitated homogeneous dispersion of 2D-Grnp and solved the dispersion problems during stir casting. As a result, AA 2014 embedded with 2D-Grnp acted as a carrier to homogeneously disperse combined with the squeeze casting process leading to the production of homogeneously reinforced MMC. This can be considered as a potential fabrication route for the launch vehicle super lightweight fuel tank (SLWT) structural application. The final casted plate after T6 heat treatment with 0.5 wt% 2D-Grnp exhibited an improved tensile strength of 361 MPa (52% higher than the monolithic 2014 aluminium alloy) with total elongation of 21% and improved hardness of 119 HRB (45.5% increase). Furthermore, SEM and TEM results exhibited that squeeze casting led to enhanced interfacial bonding between the 2D-Grnp and Al 2014.

Citation

PAZHANI, A., VENKATRAMAN, M., ANTHONY XAVIOR, M., MOGANRAJ, A., BATAKO, A., PAULSAMY, J., JAYASEELAN, J., ANBALAGAN, A., SHANTHI BAVAN, J. 2023. Synthesis and characterisation of graphene-reinforced AA 2014 MMC using squeeze casting method for lightweight aerospace structural applications. Materials and design [online], 230, article number 111990. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2023.111990

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 4, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 9, 2023
• Publication Date: Jun 30, 2023
• Deposit Date: May 14, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: May 14, 2024
• Journal: Materials and design
• Print ISSN: 0261-3069
• Electronic ISSN: 0264-1275
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 230
• Article Number: 111990
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2023.111990
• Keywords: Al 2014; Stir casting; Squeeze casting; Metal matrix MMCs; Graphene nano-powder; Super lightweight fuel tank (SLWT)
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2294370