Unveiling the Role of HfO2 Ratio on Characteristics of Aluminium-HfO2 Composites Fabricated by Hot-Pressing

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate effect of HfO2 ratio on the characteristics of Al-HfO2 composites. The samples were hot-pressed at 600 ◦C for 30 min with 1, 5, 10 and 15 wt% HfO2 ratios. An increasing HfO2 ratio caused the formation of Al3Hf and AlHf2. HfO2 particles systemically increased wear resistance, and the wear rate decreased to 4.190 mm3/Nm at 15 wt% HfO2. Moreover, 1 wt% HfO2 improved corrosion behavior, and the corrosion rate was obtained as 0.1189 mm/year. However, further increases of HfO2 deteriorated corrosion resistance due to the localized dissolution effect of intermetallics. It can be concluded that determining the HfO2 ratio is critical for achieving combined improvement in characteristics of Al-HfO2 composites.