Study of mechanical properties and wear resistance of nanostructured Al 1100/TiO₂ nanocomposite processed by accumulative roll bonding

Aluminum (Al) composites have been extensively developed for automotive applications due to their high specific strength. Therefore, in this study, an Al-titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanocomposite was processed using the accumulative roll bonding (ARB) process. The mechanical characteristics of monolithic and nanocomposites specimens made with 0, 1, 2, and 3 wt% TiO 2 nanoparticles as reinforcement were studied at several ARB passes. According to the microstructure of the composites, rolling after five passes achieves a homogenous distribution of reinforcement particles, ultrafine and elongated grains of the matrix. After five ARB passes, the TiO 2 particles were uniformly dispersed. Finally, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy revealed that the Al-TiO 2 nanocomposite had an appropriate dispersion of TiO 2 nanoparticles. Vickers microhardness improves as the number of accumulative roll bonding passes increases. Furthermore, after five passes, Vickers microhardness testing revealed that the sample with 3%TiO 2 has the greatest hardness value of 112 HV, which is significantly greater than the 44 HV hardness value of the ARB-processed aluminum. The mechanical properties of the specimens, yield and ultimate strengths, improved with the addition of TiO 2 nanoparticles. Due to good bonding among the components, mechanical parameters such as microhardness and tensile strength were more than three times better than the Al matrix.