EFFECT OF HEAT TREATMENT AND HOT FORGING ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND MICROSTRUCTURE OF AL6061-AL2O3 NANO COMPOSITES

The present paper reports on the influence of hot forging and heat treatment on characteristics of Al6061-nano Al2O3 composites with different wt. % of nano Al2O3. Ultrasonic assisted stir casting method has been used for the fabrication of Al6061/ Al2O3 nanocomposites. The variations in properties were studied with addition of nano sized reinforcement and heat treatment followed by forging of the nanocomposites. The ultrasonic-assisted stir casting set up and forging press were used to facilitate the fabrication and secondary forming of required Al- Al2O3 nano composite samples. The as-cast, heat treated and forged & heat treated (HT)samples of different percentage composition were prepared and then different mechanical properties like density, Hardness, compressive strength etc. were tested to check the behavior of the composites and SEM was done for the microstructural characterization of the Al-nano composite samples.