A synergistic effect on enriching the Mg–Al–Zn alloy-based hybrid composite properties

Mg-Al-Zn alloys are widely preferred in many applications by considering their excellent properties of high stiffness-to-weight ratio, lightweight, high strength-to-weight ratio, low density, castability, high-temperature mechanical properties, machinability, high corrosion resistance, and great damping. Improving the properties of such alloys is challenging due to their hexagonal crystal structure and other alloying limitations. This study aims to synthesize Mg-Al-Zn alloy by incorporating the alloying elements 8.3 wt% Al, 0.35 wt% Zn on pure magnesium (Control specimen). Then synthesize Mg-Al-Zn/BN/B4C hybrid composite by reinforcing B4C at three weight proportions (3 wt%, 6 wt%, 9 wt%) along with constant solid lubricant BN (3 wt%) through a stir casting process. The hybrid composite samples were characterized and compared with the performances of the control specimen. The results reveal that 9 wt% B4C reinforced samples outperformed through recording the improvement of tensile strength by 28.94%, compressive strength by 37.89%, yield strength by 74.63%, and hardness by 14.91% than the control specimen. Apart from this, it has reduced the corrosion area (37.81%) and noticed negligible changes in density (increased by 0.03%) and porosity (decreased by 0.01%) than the control specimen. The samples were characterized using SEM, XRD, and EDAX apparatus.