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Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Composites: Metal and Ceramic ...

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Table 4.5 Mechanical properties of electrodeposited<br />

nanocrystalline Ni <strong>and</strong> Ni/MWNT composite.<br />

the Ni/MWNT composite deposited by the pulse-reverse method exhibits higher<br />

tensile elongation (2.4%) than that of pure Ni (1.7%). The yield strength <strong>and</strong> tensile<br />

strength of Ni/MWNT composite are 1290 <strong>and</strong> 1715 MPa, respectively. By using<br />

single-walled nanotubes, the tensile strength of Ni/SWNT composite deposited<br />

under the same condition can reach as high as 2 GPa. The high reinforcing<br />

efficiency of CNTs is attributed to good interfacial bonding <strong>and</strong> stiffer nickel metal<br />

matrix.<br />

4.3<br />

Comparison with Nanoparticle-<strong>Reinforced</strong> <strong>Metal</strong>s<br />

<strong>Ceramic</strong> nanoparticle reinforcements can markedly increase the tensile strength <strong>and</strong><br />

elastic modulus of metals more effectively than their microparticle counterparts. The<br />

improved mechanical properties of nanocomposites can be achieved by adding very<br />

low volume fractions of nanoparticles provided that the fillers are dispersed uniformly<br />

in the metal matrices of composites [Chap. 1, Ref. 2–Chap. 1, Ref. 4]. However,<br />

ceramic nanoparticles always agglomerate into large clusters during processing,<br />

particularly at higher filler content.<br />

Figure 4.12 shows the tensile properties of PM Al reinforced with alumina<br />

nanoparticles (25 nm) of different volume fractions; <strong>and</strong> for comparison, the tensile<br />

behavior of Al reinforced with 10 vol% SiC (10 mm) particles are also shown.<br />

Apparently, the yield <strong>and</strong> tensile strengths of PM Al/Al2O3 nanocomposites increase<br />

with increasing alumina content up to 4 vol%, but thereafter level off due to severe<br />

clustering of nanoparticles. Figure 4.13(a) <strong>and</strong> (b) show typical TEM micrographs of<br />

the Al/1vol%Al2O3 <strong>and</strong> Al/4vol%Al2O3 nanocomposites. Clustering of alumina<br />

nanoparticles occurs when the filler content reaches 4 vol%. These clusters are<br />

mainly located at the grain boundaries of the aluminum matrix.<br />

The aspect ratio of spherical nanoparticles is unity, thus the contribution from the<br />

load bearing transfer effect to the strength of composites is smaller compared with<br />

that of CNTs. In this case, Orowan stress plays a major role in strengthening<br />

composites reinforced with nanoparticles [21]. Mathematically, Orowan stress can<br />

be described by the following equation [22, 23]:<br />

t ¼<br />

0:84 MGb<br />

ðLm dÞ<br />

4.3 Comparison with Nanoparticle-<strong>Reinforced</strong> <strong>Metal</strong>sj117<br />

Materials Vickers Hardness Tensile strength (MPa) Elongation (%)<br />

Nanocrystalline Ni 572 1162 2.39<br />

Ni/MWNT Composite 645 1475 2.09<br />

Reproduced with permission from [Chap. 2, Ref. 100]. Copyright Ó (2008) Elsevier.<br />

ð4:17Þ

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