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Light metal matrix nanocomposites (LMMNCs)
are advanced materials, in which nanosized ceramic particles are
reinforced in aluminum/magnesium matrices. In conventional metal
matrix composites (MMCs), the incorporation of micron-sized
reinforcements usually contributes to the high hardness and ultimate
strength when compared to the unreinforced base material. However,
most of these composites do not show plastic deformation (little or
no yield) and exhibit a drastic reduction in ductility. This poses a
major limitation for MMCs to be used in real-time applications. To
overcome this drawback, composites with nanoscale reinforcements are
being developed. From research studies, it has been established that
LMMNCs are better materials as they show improved strength as well
as high ductility resulting in enhanced toughness. However, for
improvement in properties to occur, the nano-reinforcements should
be distributed uniformly in the matrix, without any clustering or
agglomeration. Hence, the greatest challenge in obtaining
high-performance nanocomposites and realizing their application
potential invariably lies in obtaining uniform distribution of
nanoparticles. In this paper, the state-of-the-art processing
methods employed in the advancement LMMNCs and the challenges
encountered are presented. |
