Effects of Fe-Ni alloy nanoparticles on the mechanical properties and microstructures of Al2O3/Fe-Ni nanocomposites prepared by rapid sintering

Abstract

A high frequency induction heated sintering (HFIHS) process was applied to fabricate dense Al2O3 reinforced with Fe-Ni magnetic metal dispersion particles. The process is based on the reduction of metal oxide particles immediately prior to sintering. The synthesized Al2O3/Fe-Ni nanocomposite powders are formed directly from the selective reduction of metal oxide powders, including NiO and Fe2O3. A dense Al2O3/Fe-Ni nanocomposite was fabricated using the HFIHS method with an extremely high heating rate of 2000 degrees C/min. The phase identification of nanocomposite powders and sintered specimens was determined by X-ray diffraction. Three-point bending tests and Vickers hardness experiments were performed to investigate the mechanical properties of the Al2O3/Fe-Ni nanocomposites and the relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated using TEM and SEM supported with EDX. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.