Development and characterization of silicon nitride reinforced ZE43 magnesium composites

Abstract

Magnesium-based materials have attracted interest as possible options newlinefor producing components for numerous energy-efficient lightweight newlinestructures utilized in the automobile and aerospace industries. Magnesium newlinealloys have considerable promise in a variety of industrial applications due to newlinetheir low density, ability to arrest vibrations, and high specific strength in newlinecomparison to aluminium alloys. The most prevalent Mg alloys, which are newlineintensively researched for diverse load-bearing structural and biological newlineapplications, have aluminium and zinc as the principal alloying constituents. newlineThere are several commercially available Mg alloys in the form of cast billets, newlinewrought sheets, and rods. However, Mg-containing rare earth alloys are newlinegaining favour due to their superior characteristics. The ZE43 Mg alloy is a newlinerelatively recent material used in the aerospace industry. Cast forms of the newlineZE43 Mg alloy are commercially available. However, its low levels of newlinehardness, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance severely limit its practical newlineapplication. newlineThe Friction Stir Processing (FSP) approach has risen to newlineprominence as an effective means of creating composite coatings on top of newlinemetal surfaces, competing with other surface modification technologies such newlineas electron beam, plasma spraying, laser beam, etc. In this study, advanced newlineceramic particles based on nitrides were spread on a magnesium surface under newlinethe best possible process conditions. Silicon nitride (Si3N4) particles are taken newlineas reinforcement in this study because of their low density, wear resistance, newlineand high-temperature stability. newline newline