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Microstructural observation and mechanical properties behavior of

Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposite fabricated by stir casting process

Article  in  Engineering Research Express · February 2022

DOI: 10.1088/2631-8695/ac54ed

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Pankaj P Awate Dr. Shivprakash Bhagwatrao Barve

Maharashtra Institute of Technology Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University Pune
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Microstructural observation and mechanical properties behavior of

Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposite fabricated by stir casting process
To cite this article before publication: Pankaj Phadnis Awate et al 2022 Eng. Res. Express in press https://doi.org/10.1088/2631-8695/ac54ed

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Page 1 of 18 AUTHOR SUBMITTED MANUSCRIPT - ERX-101357.R1

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3 Microstructural observation and mechanical properties behavior of Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposite
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fabricated by stir casting process

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7 Pankaj P. Awatea*& Dr. Shivprakash B. Barveb
a*
8 School of Mechanical Engineering, MIT World Peace University, Pune, India
b
9 Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, MIT World Peace University, India

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10 a*
pankajawatepp@gmail.com, bshivprakash.barve@mitwpu.edu.in
11 Abstract
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13 Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles are capable of improving the material characteristics if
14 reinforced to soft and low strength material. The major limitation in the utilization of Al alloy 6061 in
15 medium to heavy stress applications such as automobile, defense, transportations, and aerospace is low
16

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hardness and strength. In order to overcome the deficiency of Al6061, nano-Al2O3 reinforced Al6061
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18 matrix nanocomposite (AMNC) was successfully fabricated on machinated aluminum stir casting
19 furnace. Al2O3 nanoparticles in 2,4,6 and 8wt. % were reinforced in the Al6061 matrix and the effect on
20 mechanical and microstructure behavior was investigated by field emission scanning electron
21 microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), hardness, and tensile testing methods.
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Higher magnification FESEM micrographs revealed that reinforcement of nano-Al2O3 leads to
considerable grain refinement and uniform distribution with less porosity. The mechanical properties
results showed enhancement in tensile strength (by 130%), hardness (by 156%), yield stress (by 360%)
with reinforcement of nano-Al2O3 over the base alloy Al6061. It was observed that the nano size of Al2O3
particles, the quantity of reinforcement, and the stir casting process were effective factors on the
microstructure and mechanical properties enhancement.
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30 Keywords: Nano-Al2O3, Al6061, nanocomposite, FESEM, mechanical properties.
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32 1. Introduction
33 Nanocomposites are polyphase materials that comprise a matrix and nano-reinforcement, which
34 were developed to satisfy the needs of attractive modern materials. Nanocomposites are categorized into
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the following major types. Based on matrix constituent they have been classified as metal matrix, ceramic
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37 matrix, and polymer matrix nanocomposites whereas on the basis of reinforcement constituent they are
38 fiber-reinforced nanocomposites, laminar nanocomposites, and particulate nanocomposites. Metal
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39 matrix nanocomposites (MMNCs) are the most widely used type of nanocomposites in industrial
40 applications, because of their advantages relative to polymer and ceramic matrix [1]. Nanocomposites
41 form usually by reinforcement of nanosized tubes, fibers, particles, or sheets to improve the physical,
42 mechanical, thermal, and electrical characteristics of conventional materials. The use of novel
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nanocomposites in advanced engineering applications is the key to maintaining pace with technology
45 evolutions, stimulating market changes, and filling up technological gaps by revolutionizing the product
46 line [2,3]. The aluminum alloy matrix nanocomposites (AMNCs) are the high-strength, low-weight
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47 materials capable of replacing conventional materials to a larger extent in advanced applications such as
48 automobile, aerospace, marine applications, defense, recreation industries, and electronic sectors. These
49 nanocomposites can enhance material characteristics like ultimate tensile strength, hardness, density,
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stiffness, high specific strength, low cost per specimen, improved stability of dimensions, wear resistance,
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etc. Particle-reinforced nanocomposite can provide desired mechanical properties with aluminum and its
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53 alloys [4,5]. The development of aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) and, more specifically,
54 nanocomposites is in continuous expansion, given the possibility of obtaining materials with low density
55 and excellent specific mechanical properties [6,7]. These aspects are very relevant in various industrial
56 sectors, especially in transport.
57 The aluminum (Al) is a silvery-white, soft, lightweight, nonmagnetic, ductile, and non-ferrous
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metal that offers various characteristics in its alloy form. Aluminum is alloyed with numerous other
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3 elements to improve its strength, formability, thermal conductivity, resistance to corrosion, and hardness.
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Aluminum alloys can provide a huge range of physical, mechanical, thermal, and electrical

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characteristics, which increased their demand in transportation, construction, aeronautical, automobile,
7 and structural applications [8]. The research studies showed various aluminum alloys have been
8 developed to enhance the targeted material properties. Generally, they are classified as cast and wrought
9 aluminum alloys. Amongst the various Al alloys, the most popular alloy series is AA 6XXX, which

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10 consists of silicon and magnesium as major alloying elements [9]. Al 6061 is a versatile alloy in the
11 6XXX series family due to excellent formability, machinability, weldability, and high corrosion
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resistance than in other materials, find applications in automobile, marine, defense, aerospace, medical,
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14 agriculture, structural, etc. It is an important multifunctional special-purpose, low expensive alloy in the
15 heat treatable aluminum family [10,11]. The major problem in the use of Al6061 in medium to heavy
16 stress applications such as automobile, aerospace, and transportations is low strength and hardness [12].

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17 The problem can be tackled by introducing hard Al2O3 nanoparticles in the Al6061 matrix which can
18 provide significant strengthening and hardening [13, 14]. The available literature shows, researchers have
19 attempted to explore the impact of nano and microparticles of Al2O3 on aluminum and its alloys
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especially on Al6061, but remarkable enhancement in mechanical properties such as hardness, strength,
22 and yield stress in reinforced Al6061 is still not achieved. This is due to the unavailability of a well-
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equipped automatic stir casting furnace, failing to achieve uniform distribution nanoparticles,
agglomeration, and porosity. Therefore, careful research on the effect of micro and nano hard particles
of Al2O3 on microstructure and mechanical properties of the Al6061 matrix is needed [15]. Nanosize
particle reinforcement provides better and interesting results than micro reinforcement.
The aluminum alloy-based composites with different micro and nanosized reinforcements such
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as graphite [16], CNTs and SiC [17], TiB2[18], Al2O3[19], SiO2[20], ZrO2 [21], and B4C[22] at various
30 weight fractions improve microstructural characteristics and provides a new range of mechanical,
31 physical, thermal, and electrical properties suitable for modern applications [23]. Amongst these
32 advanced nanomaterial families, Al2O3 nanoparticles are characterized by extremely higher strength,
33 hardness, large surface area, and high aspect ratio which attracts researchers towards it [24,25]. Al2O3
34 nanoparticles on account of outstanding optical, thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties can bring
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revolution in the field of novel material and advanced engineering applications. This nanoparticle finds
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37 applications in aerospace, automobiles, catalysts, baseboard integrated circuits, ceramics, sodium lamps,
38 windows ROM, cosmetic fillers, packaging, polishing, semiconductor, fluorescent materials, metal and
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39 glass products, high strength ceramics, cutting tools, plastics, grinder belts, composite materials, etc.
40 [26].
41 The formation of the nanocomposite materials is emphasized on obtaining new material with
42 predominant characteristics as compared with the conventional material. The major challenge in the
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formation of nanocomposites is to achieve uniform reinforcement dispersion in fabricating a sound
45 specimen at low porosity. These nanocomposites can be formed by solid and liquid phase metallurgical
46 processes [27]. Solid-phase processes are friction stirring and powder metallurgy whereas squeeze
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47 casting, stir casting, spray casting, compo-casting are liquid phase processes [28]. Amongst the above
48 methods, powder metallurgy and stir casting are processes that provide a uniform dispersion of reinforced
49 nanoparticles [29]. Stir casting is easier and less expensive than powder metallurgy and compo casting
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and achieves uniformity of reinforced particles [30,31]. In the stir casting process particles are injected
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over the molten temperature of matrix alloy, whereas during the compo-casting process, particles are
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53 reinforced in semi-solid residue temperature of a matrix. During these fabrications, the vortex takes place
54 and the nanocomposites may have more porosity. The stir casting process has advantages over other
55 processes as process simplicity, less processing cost provides better reinforcement and matrix bonding,
56 good control on the matrix structure, and a variety of reinforcement can be used [32]. However, during
57 nanocomposite fabrication by the stir casting researcher has to deal with two major issues. First is the
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wettability problem as the reinforcements are not wetted easily by molten matrix and secondly, their
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3 density difference as the reinforced particles is floated or tries to sink due to their relative density
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difference with the molten matrix [33]. Also, the issue of obtaining homogeneous dispersion of

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reinforcement and decreasing the porosity can be dealt with by using pressure casting such as squeeze
7 casting and die casting. The size of nanoparticles and quantity of reinforcement are the major factors
8 affecting the strength and hardness of AMNC[34,35].
9 The objective of the research is to find the solution to the deficiency of Al6061 by introducing

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10 hard Al2O3 nanoparticles in the Al6061 matrix at 2,4,6 and 8wt.% separately. A remarkable improvement
11 in tensile strength, hardness, and proof stress is desired. The research aims to provide novel
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Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposite to the new material family that improves the strength and hardness of
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14 Al6061, prove its mechanical property superiority over other competing alloys and widen the scope of
15 application of Al6061. The fabrication of novel Al2O3/Al6061 metal matrix nanocomposite is achieved
16 by stir casting. Microstructural observations were performed by FESEM and affirmed by EDS. Uniform

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17 distribution of Al2O3 nanoparticles, grain refinement, and low porosity were observed. The great
18 enhancement in mechanical properties of Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposite over Al6061 is achieved. The
19 study of effects of various factors such as i) various wt. % of the Al2O3 nanoparticles, ii) nanosize of
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Al2O3 particles and (iii) type of fabrication process on Al6061 was the main interest of the research.
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2. Experimentation
2.1 Raw Materials
2.1.1 Aluminum alloys 6061 an
In the fabrication of Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposites, alloy Al6061 manufactured by Hindalco
industries limited Mumbai India was taken as a matrix material which was received in the form of Al
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rods with 19mm diameter from the manufacturer. Table1 indicates the composition of Al6061from the
30 technical sheet of the manufacturer supplied along with alloy.
31 Table 1
32 Composition of Al6061
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34 Al Cu Si Mn Fe Cr Mg Zn V Ti Zr
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36 97.70 0.260 0.670 0.1 0.150 0.08 1.001 0.006 0.001 0.02 0.001
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2.1.2 Nano-Al2O3
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40 The α-Al2O3 nanoparticle was supplied by the Ad-Nano technologies private limited India in the
41 form of white nanopowder used as reinforcement. The very high purity and large surface area
42 nanoparticles were synthesized by the sol-gel technique of metal oxide formation with quality checked
43 at various points. A particle size analyzer was used to measure individual nanoparticle size,
44 concentration, and charge with precision. A BET surface area analyzer was utilized to determine the
45 surface area of nanoparticles by the nitrogen gas absorption technique. Al2O3 nanoparticles employed
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are characterized by anti-corrosive, mechanical strength enhancement, electrically insulating, fracture
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48 toughness, wear and creep resistance properties. The technical parameters of the nano-Al2O3 are given
49 in Table 2.
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51 Table 2
52 Technical Parameter of Al2O3 nanoparticles
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53 Aluminum Oxide Description

54 Purity >99%
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Size ~50 nm Diameter
57 Boiling temp. 2977 °C
58 Melting temp. 2072 °C
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3 Ph Value 6
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Bulk density 0.5 g/cm3

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molecular weight 101. 96 g/mol
7 Surface Area 35m2/g
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9 2.2 Sample preparation

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10 2.2.1 Stir Casting Furnace
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In the sample preparation nano-Al2O3 powder in various wt. fractions were slowly injected and
13 reinforced successfully into molten aluminum alloy 6061 in the well-equipped automatic stir casting
14 furnace manufactured by Swam equip Chennai TN India. The mechanism of stir casting furnace is
15 indicated in fig.1(a). The equipment comprises of high-temperature electric furnace rectangular in shape,
16 stirrer arrangement, stainless steel pot for melting with bottom pouring, squeeze casting, rotary

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17 centrifugal, and vacuum casting arrangements. The furnace was arranged with a leak-proof lid and lock.
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The valve was provided at the bottom which facilitates direct pouring of the molten matrix into the die
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20 cavity without stopping stirring. The furnace chamber is made from a thick gauge mild steel sheet. The
21 temperature at the inner chamber can be reached up to 1200° C which was formed by a high Al2O3
22 ceramic muffle. The heat loss between the inner to the outer chamber is reduced to a minimum by the
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use of densely packed high-density ceramic fibers. The furnace heating element was KANTHAL APM
coils wound in spiral form and placed outside the inner muffle in the refractory chamber. The stainless-
steel pot is manufactured out of AIS1310 grade heat resistant and corrosive resistant material with lid
and suitable holes are provided for stirrer and for adding any other chemicals or powdered substances.
At the bottom of the pot suitable stainless-steel tube is provided with an opening for pouring the melt
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29 into the die. K-type thermocouple used as temperature sensor connected by compensating cable to the
30 temperature-controlling unit. The furnace control panel also accommodates HRC fuse units, digital
31 ammeter, voltmeter, pilot indicating lights on/off switch, variable speed switch for stirrer, etc. The system
32 is provided with argon and SF6 gas cylinders along with regulator and pipe connections. The mold
33 castings were attached to the furnace at the bottom with a direct pouring facility of a molten matrix to
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die.
36 The furnace was equipped with a twin fin blade type mechanical stirrer made of stainless steel
37 310 grade for uniform distribution, preheater, and bottom pouring facility. Up/down switch press to on
38 switch and limit switches to control the movement of stirrer assembly is mounted on the stirrer assembly
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39 for easy operation. Stirring was done continuously for 15 min to achieve uniform distribution and the
40 stainless-steel blade speed chosen was 500rpm and measured with a non-contact type digital tachometer.
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Specifications of the stir casting furnace are listed in Table 3.
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Fig. 1. (a) Sketch of the mechanism of the stir casting furnace
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Table 3
Specifications of the stir casting furnace
Capacity
Max. Temperature
Speed range of stirrer
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- 2Kg of Aluminum
- 900 ℃
- 0 - 2000 RPM.
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29 Operating Voltage - 400/440v, 3-phase, A.C.50Hz
30 Thermocouple - K type
31 Power Consumption - 15KW
32 Casting Type - Gravity Casting, Squeeze Casting, Rotary Casting
33 Job Rate - 5000/casting
34 Man hr. rate - 1000/hr.
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Pouring - Motorized control with remote switch
37 Skin Temperature - Not more than 75 ℃
38 Temperature control - Digital Display by PID temperature indicator & controller
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41 2.2.2 Nanocomposite preparation
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The fabrication process adopted for the formation of the nanocomposites is as follows:
44 1- Long bars of aluminum alloys 6061were cut by an automatic cutter into small cylindrical
45 pieces
46 2- These small cylindrical Al6061 pieces are inserted and melted into the furnace.
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47 3- The furnace temperature was kept near about 850ºC i.e., above the molten temperature of
48 Al6061 to melt the alloy completely and was then maintained around 670ºC.
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4- The furnace lids closed tightly and the air is removed from the furnace by vacuum.
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51 5- The argon gas was pumped into a furnace and heated the furnace to 800ºC.
52 6- Al2O3 nanoparticles are preheated into the preheater
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53 7- After formation of complete melt of Al6061 mechanical stirrer was taken down and slow
54 feeding of Al2O3 nanoparticles was started
55 8- Al2O3 nanoparticles were slowly injected in molten Al6061 along with continued stirring
56 9- The stirring time was designed for 15 minutes at 500 rpm.
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10- Raising the temperature of the mixing to 850±10ºC.
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59 11- Meanwhile, funnel and die for pouring was heated
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3 12- Funnel is attached to bottom pouring opening of furnace whose other opening is placed on die
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cavity and molten matrix was poured into the die by activation of the bottom pouring

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arrangement
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8 In the formation of test specimens of Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposite, dimensions are finalized
9 using ASTM E8/E8M-13a standard for tensile testing shown in Fig.2. For the formation of mold for

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10 pouring, dimensions of the cavity are taken by considering machining and shrinkage allowances to the
11 maximum dimensions of the tensile specimen. The mold is prepared from two steel plates whose mating
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surfaces were finished and held tight by weld spots at different places. Oversize drills are made to form
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14 pouring cavities as that of dimensions given by ASTM standard. All cavities are interconnected at the
15 bottom by making slots by milling operations. While during fabrication of casting mold plates are held
16 tight by dowel pins. The sample casting is taken out of the pattern after pouring shown in Fig. 3(a) and

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17 machined test sample for each composition in standard dimensions shown in Fig. 3(b).
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29 Fig. 2 Sketch of shape and dimensions of the tensile test samples
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52 (a) (b)
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53 Fig. 3 (a) Casting taken out from mold (b) Machined test samples
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55 2.3 Microstructure and mechanical properties
56 In the preparation of test specimens for microstructure analysis, the samples were cut by
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automatic cutter and grinding done using 600,800,1000 and 1200 grit papers, polished by 3 𝜇m diamond
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59 paste followed by cleaning. Microstructural observations of the Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposites were
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3 performed by FESEM (Carl Zeiss SIGMA-03-18) which was equipped with an energy dispersive
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spectroscopy (EDS) that was used to evaluate how well the Al2O3 were distributed in the Al6061

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nanocomposites and elemental identification. Mechanical testing was performed in an authorized (NABL
7 accredited) testing lab. The hardness testing was performed on TKB-3000 at 1000kgf load and 10 mm
8 ball diameter. Whereas tensile testing on UTM (TUF-C-600SERVO).
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10 3. Results and Discussions
11 In order to study the influence of Al2O3 nanoparticles on Al6061, a microstructure study was
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and mechanical testing was carried out. Tensile strength, hardness, and yield stress obtained during
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14 testing are indicated in table 4. The remarkable enhancement in material characteristics is achieved with
15 all wt.% of Al2O3 nanoparticles. Maximum tensile and yield strength was observed in 4wt. %
16 reinforcement.

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18 Table 4
19 Mechanical Testing Results of Al2O3 /Al6061 Metal Matrix Nanocomposite
20 Tensile
21 Content of Hardness
22 Samples Nano-Al2O3 strength Yield strength
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(wt.%)
0
2
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(MPa)
123.35
273.477
(BHN)

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93.23
(MPa)

49.43
218.55
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31 4 6 262.268 101 209.295
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33 5 8 252.581 89.73 214.391
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36 3.1 Microstructure
37 The morphologies of Al2O3 nanoparticles observed by using SEM (fig.4 a-b) showed they are
38 white-colored nanosized spherical structures attached to each other in the form of clusters. Spherical
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39 structured Al2O3 causes enhancement in hardness, strength, and yield stress. High surface area Al2O3
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nanoparticles when mixed in small amounts with a base matrix such as metals, plastics, and rubber,
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42 improve its mechanical stability. When Al2O3 nanoparticles are introduced in agglomerated form into
43 the Al6061 matrix melt, it is very tough to disparate the clusters form just by stirring during the
44 fabrication of MMNCs due to limited wettability. Therefore, to obtain separation of Al2O3 cluster,
45 preheating of Al2O3 particles and steady release to the melted matrix with continuous stirring was done.
46 Preheating avoids cooling of melt by nanoparticles addition and obtaining a uniform release of
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47 nanoparticles in the Al6061. Stirring removes the moisture and increases the wettability of Al2O3
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nanoparticles with the molten Al6061 [30-32]. When these nanoparticles are incorporated into the melt,
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50 the clusters start to distribute in molten Al6061 that results in the even dispersion of Al2O3 particles and
51 excellent mechanical characteristics.
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20 Fig 4. morphologies of Al2O3 nanoparticles used at a) 1µm &b)500nm
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22 The very interesting mechanical testing results of the Al6061 aluminum alloy were observed when mixed
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with different wt.% of nano-Al₂O₃ particles by a carefully implemented stir-casting process. The
tremendous enhancement in hardness (100.67 BHN), strength (284.537 MPa), and yield stress (227.578
MPa) were observed with 4wt%. of nano-Al₂O₃. The micrographs of unreinforced Al6061 and 4% of
Al2O3 at different magnification and affirmation by EDS spectra and mapping shown in Fig.5.
It was observed that the micrograph of unreinforced Al6061 (Fig.5a) is a clean surface without
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29 the identification of any other elements. In the microstructure of 4 wt.% of Al2O3 at low and high
30 magnification (Fig.5b&c), The Al2O3 particles were found to be irregular in shape, the distributions of
31 Al2O3 particles in the matrix seemed to be a combination of uniform dispersion and clustering at some
32 places without porosities. Uniform dispersion was achieved by preheating of Al2O3 nanoparticles and
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slow feeding in a molten matrix with simultaneous mechanical stirring. Clustering of Al2O3 was
35 observed at some places due to the limited wettability of Al2O3 nanoparticles caused by density
36 difference and nano size of reinforcement. Some nano porosities are due to gas entrapped during stirring,
37 cooling, and solidification. In the fabricated nanocomposite, reinforcement volume and nano-size of
38 added material were affected on the matrix grain size, and increment in grain boundary area was
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39 observed. Also, the grain size is proportional to the reinforced nano size of particles that decreased with
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particle size so the volume percentage of particles increased (Fig.5c). This happens because of grain
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42 growth prevention due to grain boundary pinning. The reinforced Al2O3 nanoparticles harden and
43 strengthen the Al6061 matrix which is observed in all fabricated compositions and that enhances
44 hardness, and strength and improves the load-bearing capacity of the nanocomposite.
45 The EDS was employed to characterize Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposite to separate the x-rays
46 characteristic various elements present into an energy spectrum of the nanocomposite [36,37]. The
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47 fundamental compositional information of the elements present in the matrix and distribution pattern of
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Al2O3 nanoparticles was shown by analyzing the energy spectrum through the EDS system (Fig.5d).
50 EDS analysis of the matrix for the selected spectrum is shown in Fig.5d. The EDS analysis of a 4 wt.%
51 Al2O3 particle-reinforced Al6061 nanocomposite fabricated at 670C, confirms that there is about at
52 91.93wt.% and 88.41 atomic% of aluminum as a major element, and 6.11wt.% and 9.91atomic% of
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53 oxygen due to Al2O3 reinforcement. Similarly, the other elements that exist in the matrix such as Mg,
54 Si, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Zn were detected and their weight % shown in Fig5e.
55 According to the FESEM micrographs, Al2O3 nanoparticles were uniformly distributed in the
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Al6061 matrix, which was further affirmed by EDS analysis (Fig.5f-h) at the selected area. The Al2O3
58 particles were found to be distributed uniformly in the Al6061 matrix. They had high surface energy
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3 levels because of their small sizes [38,39]. From combined EDS mapping Fig.5f, it can be seen that
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aluminum covers almost the entire surface and the surface in combination with oxygen [40]. Fig.5(g &

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h) depicts the EDS analysis distribution map of oxygen and aluminum respectively.
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21 Fig.5.a) FESEM of unreinforced Al 6061 alloy at 20µm, b) FESEM of 4wt.% of Al2O3 at 20µm and
22 c)100nm d) EDS analysis e) weight% and atomic% of elements 4wt.% Al2O3 f) EDS overlapped map
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of oxygen and aluminum g) Separate EDS map of carbon and h) aluminum with 4wt.% Al2O3

Fig.6(a) shows FESEM micrographs of unreinforced Al6061 nanocomposites for comparison with
2, 6, and 8%wt. (Fig.6 b-d) of Al2O3 reinforced nanocomposite respectively at higher
magnification(100nm). The micrographs of 2wt.% nanocomposites contain primary α-Al dendrites, and
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29 nanoparticles are placed at inter-dendritic regions (Fig.6b). The breakdown of these dendrite-shaped
30 structures was achieved by the continuous stirring of molten before and after inserting Al2O3
31 nanoparticles to obtain an equiaxed form to enhance the inclusion of the Al2O3 nanoparticles in the
32 molten matrix. The homogeneous particle distribution and strong nanoparticle and matrix bonding were
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observed in 2 wt.% reinforcement of Al2O3 (Fig. 6b).
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35 It has been observed for 6 wt.% Al2O3 reinforcement that, if reinforcement is increased, matrix
36 grain refinement occurs, which improved the bond between Al2O3 nanoparticles and the Al6061 matrix
37 (Fig.6c) which results in an excellent improvement in hardness. As the size of reinforcement decreases
38 from micro to nano, strength and hardness increase. The nanosize of Al2O3 particles affected better on
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39 the hardening and strengthening due to a strong interface that occurred between nanoparticles and the
40 Al6061 matrix material that produced resistance to dislocation movements. The FESEM images revealed
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that the grain size of the aluminum matrix was reduced on account of the reinforcement of nanosized
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43 Al2O3 particles. It was seen that the grain size of nanocomposite is less than Al6061 alloy and decreases
44 as reinforcement quantity increases. This was due to Al2O3 nanoparticles inserted into the molten matrix,
45 which worked as heterogeneous nucleating sites when solidification takes place.
46 In Fig.6d for the micrograph of 8wt.% of Al2O3, some nano-porosities were observed in inter-
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47 grain regions. The sources of porosities are clustering of nanoparticles, gas entrapment during casting,
48 and low wettability of Al2O3 nanoparticles. Also, porosity was observed, due to an increase in stirrer
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speed and Al2O3 nanoparticle quantity. High stirrer speed caused turbulence in the melt which causes gas
51 bubbles formation.
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36 Fig.6(a-d) FESEM of casted unreinforced Al6061 and (b)2wt.%, and (c) 6wt.% and d)8wt.% Al2O3
37 nanoparticles respectively
38 3.2 Mechanical properties
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39 The effect of nano-Al2O3 on the mechanical characteristics of Al6061 is depicted in curves (Fig.7-
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9). The enhancement in the mechanical testing results of Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposites was obtained in
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42 comparison with unreinforced Al6061. The improvement in tensile strength, yield strength, and hardness
43 was achieved mainly due to the use of a well-equipped automatic stir casting furnace, uniform
44 distribution of Al2O3 nanoparticles, preheating, slow feeding of nanoparticles, slow, controlled, and
45 continuous stirring, and low porosity.
46
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47 3.2.1 Tensile Strength

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To study the influence of nano-Al2O3 on the Al6061 matrix, the tensile tests were performed
50 according to ASTM standards on the computerized uni-axial universal testing machine. The stress-strain
51 curves of various samples were observed and mechanical properties, such as strength and yield stress
52 were evaluated (Table 4). The ultimate tensile strength (Fig.7) showed improvement in strength with the
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53 reinforcement of nano-Al2O3 for 4 wt.%. High tensile strength was achieved for all reinforcements in
54 comparison to casted Al6061, which is attributable to the grain refinement and particle toughening effect
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of Al2O3 nanoparticles. The amount of Al2O3 reinforcement is directly proportional to strength and
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57 hardness. The nano-size of reinforced particles played a crucial role in strengthening, hardening of the
58 Al6061 matrix due to a better interface between matrix and nanoparticles. This interphase produces
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3 resistance to dislocation movement. The strengthening mechanism that occurred in the Al2O3/Al6061
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nanocomposites is mainly due to Orowan strengthening and fine-grain strengthening. It was proved that

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the Orowan strengthening occurs in the composites whose reinforced particle size is less than 1 µm.
7 [41,42]. An enhancement in strength was achieved due to the thermal mismatch phenomenon that occurs
8 in between the Al6061 matrix and the nano-Al2O3, which is the main reason for the Al6061 matrix
9 dislocation density increment, that increased nanocomposite strength. The decrease in strength beyond

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10 4wt.% of Al2O3 reinforcement is attributed to nonuniform dispersion of nanoparticles, agglomeration,
11 and increased porosity. 4% of Al2O3 reinforcement gives the maximum tensile strength 284.537 MPa
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which is 130 % higher than the strength (123.35 MPa) of the casted 6061 alloys.
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35 Fig.7 Tensile strength variation with nano-Al2O3wt.%
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37 3.2.2 Hardness
38 Fig.8 showed the hardness behavior of the Al6061the nanocomposites with various wt. % of
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39 nano-Al2O3. An outstanding improvement in hardness values (BHN) of the Al6061 matrix was achieved
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41 in all compositions considered. The improvement in hardness is clearly showed the fact that the inclusion
42 of hard nanoparticles of Al2O3, enhanced the overall hardness of the soft Al6061 due to uniform
43 nanoparticles dispersion, matrix, and Al2O3 nanoparticles interfacial bond, and low porosity. The
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45 maximum hardness achieved is 101 BHN at 6 wt.% of Al2O3 reinforcement which is 158 % higher than
46 that hardness (39.40 BHN) of the casted 6061 alloys. In the nanocomposite, particle strengthening occurs
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47 due to Al2O3 nanoparticles that acted as a hurdle to the dislocation movements and lead to improvement
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in hardness. Other reasons for hardness improvement are grain refinement and improved microstructural
50 densification. The ductility and plastic deformation tendency of Al6061 are restricted by the
51 incorporation of harder and stiffer nano-Al2O3 reinforcement, which results in significantly high
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hardness. The slight drop in hardness after maximum value reached was due to nonuniform nanoparticles
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54 dispersion nano-porosity. For all added Al2O3 nanoparticles wt.% from 2 to 8, the hardness was observed
55 as 93.23, 100.67, 101, and 89.73 BHN respectively.
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Fig.8 Hardness variation with nano-Al2O3wt.%

Proof stress (yield strength) is significant in materials like aluminum, magnesium, and similar
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29 materials whose yield points cannot be defined easily. Proof stress behavior is identical to tensile strength
30 behavior. The reasons for results of proof stress values achieved are the same that for tensile strength.
31 The highest value of proof stress observed for 4 % reinforcement gives the maximum yield stress 227.578
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MPa which is 283% higher than yield stress (49.43 MPa) of the casted 6061 alloys(Fig.9). At this point,
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the material shows the maximum amount of plastic deformation or permanent set and high ductility.
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3 3.3 Wear Behaviour
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The addition of hard brittle reinforcement of Al2O3 nanoparticles imparts hardness of hardness

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6 and wear resistance to nanocomposite [43]. Usually, reinforcement particles in form of ceramic powder
7 increase tribological properties [44]. The Al2O3 considerably improved the wear resistance of the
8 Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposite compared with the base matrix. This is due to hard Al2O3 nanoparticles
9

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10 that act as another body which reduces the penetration in the nanocomposite. The friction between mating
11 surfaces enhances a rise in temperature that leads to oxide formation that leads to a decrement in the
12 coefficient of friction. It was noted that the existence of Al2O3 reinforcements Al6061 matrix restricts
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14 friction and plastic deformation in the primary stage of loading [45,46]. In the research hardness of
15 Al6061the nanocomposites enhanced for all wt.% of Al2O3 leads to improvement of wear resistance for
16 all nanocomposites as compared with the base metal. This was attributed to the large surface area of

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18 Al2O3, low friction coefficient and excellent adherence of Al2O3 to Al6061matrix and reinforcement and
19 extraordinary steadiness. It is worth mentioning that the existence of Al2O3 nanoparticles reduces the
20 direct bearing load in the Al6061 matrix [47,48].
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3.4 Comparison with A356 and significance of fabricated Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposites
The important feature of the current research is that the mechanical characteristics considered are
highly enhanced by the incorporation of nano-Al2O3 than pure Al6061. The main competing alternative
material for Al6061 is A356 alloy as it has 94% of their average alloy composition in common. Due to
higher values of mechanical properties of A356 alloy, it is considered as an alternative for Al6061.
Experimental values of mechanical properties of A356 are ultimate tensile strength (134 MPa), hardness
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29 (67 BHN), and proof stress (82 MPa) using the stir casting process [15]. In comparison with the
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mechanical properties of alloy A356, the Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposite exhibits, an enhancement in
32 strength (by 112%), hardness (by 50%), and yield stress (by 177%) respectively. Therefore, these
33 Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposites can be used in applications where A356 and Al6061 are in need.
34 Moreover, novel nano-Al2O3/Al6061 nanocomposite can be used in automobile, transportations
35 and aerospace applications on account of improved strength and hardness and inherent corrosion
36 resistance and can be considered as an alternative for Al2024 and Al7075 in some aerospace applications
37 such as fuselages, wings, panel structures and chassis of luxury vehicles [49].
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40 4 Conclusions
41 In this research, Al2O3 nanoparticles were successfully reinforced in 2,4,6 and 8wt.%
42 respectively to the Al6061 metal matrix. The mechanical testing was done, microstructural behavior was
43 studied and confirmed by EDS. The major findings of the research are as follows:
44 1) Microstructure showed a fine grain refinement and uniform distribution of Al2O3 nanoparticles
45
with low porosity due to preheating and slow feeding of nanoparticles and controlled stirring of
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molten mixture.
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48 2) The 4wt.% Al2O3 reinforcement results in enhancement of ultimate tensile strength (by 130%),
49 hardness (by 156%), and yield stress (by 360%), for which EDS showed 91.93wt.% and 88.41
50 atomic% of aluminum and 6.11wt.% and 9.91atomic% of oxygen.
51 3) The novel nanocomposite can be used in automobiles and fuselages, wings, the inner body of the
52 airplane, and in other applications where lightweight with maximum hardness and strength
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demanded.
55 4) The microstructure and mechanical properties improved due to the use of an automated
56 mechanized stir casting furnace, optimum quantity reinforcement of hard Al2O3 nanoparticles
57 and their large surface area, low porosity, and the strong bond between matrix and nanoparticles.
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3 5) It is concluded that the amount of reinforcement, size of a reinforced particle, and casting process
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were productive factors on the mechanical properties and microstructure enhancement.

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7 Acknowledgments
8 The authors wish to thank the management and professors of MIT WPU India.
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10 Funding Information
11 The novel approach presented in this article is self-funded.
12
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