Effects of Graphene Nanoplatelets on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Corrosion Behavior of Spark Plasma Sintered Al + 20 vol.% (TiC + TiB2) Hybrid Composites

The main objective of this study is improvement of mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of Al + 20 vol.% (TiC + TiB2) hybrid composites containing various contents of GNPs (0.1, 0.5, and 1wt.%) prepared by SPS technique. The x-ray diffraction proved the formation of the prepared TiC + TiB2 powders. FE-SEM images demonstrated the homogeneous and uniform dispersion of the GNPs and TiC + TiB2 particles in the matrix. Young’s modulus and hardness were evaluated by the nano-indentation test. The results showed that the maximum hardness (4.79 GPa) and maximum Young’s modulus (137.8 GPa) were obtained for the composite sample containing 1 wt.% GNPs. Corrosion behavior was investigated by polarization and impedance tests. The results revealed that the sample containing 1 wt.% GNPs as reinforcement had the maximum corrosion resistance.