Development of wear-resistant light-weight Al-based hybrid nanocomposites for aerospace landing gear applications

Aircraft landing gears face severe wear due to high pressure; hence, the components should have low density and high wear resistance. Al-based composite materials have low density but poor wear resistance, especially Al-based hybrid composite materials. In this study, Al-based hybrid nanocomposites were fabricated by incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), graphite nanoplatelets (GnP), and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) using the spark plasma sintering method. Composites containing 1 wt%, 2 wt%, and 3 wt% hybrid nanofillers were fabricated by maintaining equal proportions of the nanofillers and increasing the proportion of hBN. The fabricated composite materials were subjected to dry sliding tests to assess their wear resistance. The wear rate decreases from 3.4 mm 3 /min for pure Al to 1.2 mm 3 /min for the fabricated Al-based hybrid nanocomposites. Similarly, the wear depth decreases from >250 μm for pure Al to <120 μm for the fabricated composite materials. The wear mode changes from severe delamination to mild ploughing. The fabricated Al-based hybrid nanocomposites can be effectively used for the fabrication of next-generation lightweight aircraft landing gears. • Spark plasma sintered Al–MWCNT–GnP–hBN hybrid nanocomposites developed with uniform nanofiller dispersion. • No Al₄C₃ or undesirable reaction phases detected, confirming phase stability during SPS. • 3 wt% hybrid reinforcement reduced wear rate by ~65–70% compared to pure Al. • Wear depth decreased from >250 μm to <120 μm with transition from severe to mild wear. • Synergistic load-bearing and solid-lubrication mechanism enhances suitability for aerospace landing gear applications.