Experimental investigation of the mechanical properties of aluminum sheets reinforced by carbon nanotubes utilizing accumulative roll bonding process

In this study, aluminum sheets reinforced by carbon nanotubes were fabricated using the Accumulative Roll Bonding (ARB) method. The ARB process was chosen among the severe plastic deformation methods to strengthen metal sheets using carbon nanotubes owing to the enhanced microstructure and mechanical properties of final products. In order to evaluate the mechanical properties of the specimens, tensile tests were carried out and the strength of sheets made by ARB method was compared to single-layer pure aluminum and reinforced composite sheets. Microstructural changes of composite sheets were studied by optical microscopy after each cycle of rolling process. The results showed that spreading of (0. 5 to 1.5) wt% of CNTs increased the ultimate strength of the composite sheets while by aggregating the CNTs more than 1.5 wt% a decreasing trend of the ultimate strength was observed. Furthermore, the composites fabricated from 7 cycle of rolling process had a homogeneous distribution of particles and strong bonding between particles and matrix without having any porosity. Also it was found that the tensile strength of composite sheets also increased as the number of cycles increased.