Simultaneous enhancement of tensile/compressive strength and ductility of magnesium alloy AZ31 using carbon nanotubes.

AZ31 nanocomposite containing carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforcement was fabricated using solidification processing followed by hot extrusion. The CNT reinforcement was integrated with AZ31 using an Al foil method. The AZ31 nanocomposite exhibited slightly smaller grain and intermetallic particle sizes than monolithic AZ31, reasonable CNT distribution, dominant (10 - 11) texture in the transverse and longitudinal directions unlike monolithic AZ31, and 48% higher hardness than monolithic AZ31. Compared to monolithic AZ31, the AZ31 nanocomposite exhibited higher 0.2%TYS, UTS, tensile failure strain and tensile work of fracture (WOF) (+10%, +17%, +68% and +92%, respectively). Similarly, compared to monolithic AZ31, the AZ31 nanocomposite exhibited higher 0.2%CYS, UCS, average compressive failure strain and compressive WOF (+58%, +3%, +5% and +17%, respectively). Inclusive of crystallographic texture changes, the effect of CNT integration on the enhancement of tensile and compressive properties of AZ31 is investigated in this paper.