Investigation of microstructure and industrial performance of aluminium–aluminium nitrides nanocomposites produced by stir-casting technique

In this work, the stir casting method has been successfully utilised to produce fine-grained aluminium composites. The microstructure and properties of casted eutectic aluminium-silicon (Al-Si) alloy were modified and enhanced by adding nanoparticles of aluminium nitride (AlN). The effect of adding AlN nanoparticles at different weight percentages (0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 wt.%) on the mechanical and electrochemical properties of produced castings was studied. The results show that the addition of AlN leads to simultaneous eutectic modification and refining to varying degrees. Also, higher tensile strength and hardness (224 N/mm2 and 110 HV, respectively) were obtained after introducing almost 49% volume fraction of AlN nanoparticles into Al matrix. Moreover, reliable progress is being achieved in the corrosion resistance. The mechanical and electrochemical properties were significantly improved after the addition of nanoparticles due to the homogeneous distribution of particles and the reduction in the size of compounds.