Mechanical, wear and corrosion behavior of hot pressed, heat-treated Al6061 nano composites

This study explores the mechanical, tribological, and corrosion behavior of Al6061 composites reinforced with Zirconium di boride (ZrB 2 ) nano-composites, which were developed using the hot pressing (powder metallurgy (PM)) process and subjected to solutionizing treatment for 1 h at 530°C, followed by quenching in water, and then artificially aged. By reinforcing Al6061 with ZrB 2 nanoparticles (0.5% to 2% by weight), the study evaluates improvements in microstructure, hardness, compression strength, wear resistance, and corrosion performance. FESEM and EDS analyses confirmed that the ZrB 2 particles were evenly distributed, leading to a denser structure with minimal porosity. The addition of ZrB 2 significantly enhanced hardness (reaching 78 HV) and compressive strength (up to 106.06 MPa). Wear testing under dry sliding conditions showed a notable decrease in wear rate as the ZrB 2 content increased, attributed to grain refinement and strong interfacial bonding. Corrosion studies in 3.5% NaCl solution demonstrated that heat-treated composites had better resistance to corrosion than Al6061, with the 2 wt. % ZrB 2 composite exhibiting the least corrosion rate of 0.026 mm /year. These findings highlight the potential of Al6061/ZrB 2 composites, especially Al6061 2 wt.% ZrB 2 composite for high-performance and durable braking applications in automotive applications, where materials need to be strong, wear-resistant, and corrosion-resistant.