Characterization on Aluminum Alloy 7050 Metal Matrix Composite Reinforced with Graphene Nanoparticles

Abstract

Abstract Metal matrix composites based on aluminum were developed for light weight applications particularly in aerospace and automobiles sectors. This research article focuses on the development and characterization of Aluminum alloy 7050 matrix composites reinforced with Graphene nanoparticles. Liquid metallurgy techniques such as stir casting and squeeze casting processes were adopted for fabricating the composites. Certain parameters like melting temperature, stirring speed and graphene content with three levels were considered for the fabrication experiments. Taguchi’s L27 Orthogonal array is used to evaluate the yield strength, tensile strength and hardness of AA7050-graphene composites fabricated by stir and squeeze casting. Based on the experimental results, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to determine the level of influence of the parameters on the strength properties such as yield, tensile strengths and hardness of the specimens.