Effectiveness evaluation of molten salt processing and ultrasonic cavitation techniques during the production of aluminium based hybrid nanocomposites - An experimental investigation

The aim of this research work is to evaluate the effectiveness of two processing methods and treatments on the mechanical properties Al 7075 based hybrid nanocomposite. In this study, Al 7075 based hybrid nanocomposites were fabricated through ultrasonic assisted cavitation and molten salt processing methods, which were further subjected to T-6 treatment and deep cryogenic treatment. The microstructural observation was carried out on hybrid nanocomposites using optical and scanning electron microscopy. A hybrid nanocomposite produced by molten salt processing with ultrasonic assistance and optimized mechanical stirring was found to possess superior properties in terms of tensile strength, percentage elongation and hardness over all other samples. Out of these treatments, T6 was found to better enhance the mechanical properties of aluminium alloy and hybrid nanocomposite than deep cryogenic treatment. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.