Wear behavior and mechanical properties of AA8090 aluminum alloy reinforced with B4C-Al2O3 hybrid nanoparticles

Purpose AA8090 aluminum alloy is used in industrial applications for weight reduction purposes. However, its usage is limited due to shortcomings such as low wear resistance. Hence, the purpose of this study is to improve the wear properties of the material. A particle strengthening mechanism was tried to improve the wear properties of materials. Design/methodology/approach AA8090 aluminum alloy composites were prepared by stir casting methods using AA8090, boron carbide (B 4 C) and aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) materials. Totally, four different types of composites were prepared, namely, AA/3Al, AA/1BC-2Al, AA/2BC-1Al and AA/3BC. Wear behavior and mechanical properties of the composites were analyzed by conducting wear test, microhardness test, tensile test and morphological analysis. Findings Results showed that the composite materials showed superior properties compared with AA8090 alloy due to the reinforcing effect of B 4 C and Al 2 O 3 particles. Further, the AA/3BC composite showed 12.9% and 10.8% enhancement in microhardness and tensile strength, respectively. Further, a minimum wear rate of 0.009 × 10 –3 mm 3 /m was observed for AA/3BC composite. Originality/value This study is original and would add new information to the literature. Further, it solves the problem of low wear resistance issues in AA8090 aluminum alloy materials.