Tribological and ageing behavior of Az91D magnesium alloy fortified with nano lanthanum and nanoceria by stir casting for aviation application

The aviation field requires a material with the ability to withstand severe environmental conditions. The purpose of this paper is to provide higher wear resistance and improve the lifetime of aircraft. Hence, it is vital to enhance the wear resistance and strength of the material.

In this investigation, the Az91D magnesium alloy was reinforced with lanthanum (La₂O₃) and cerium oxide (CeO₂) nanoparticles by stir casting and heat treatment process and the tribological and mechanical properties were analyzed.

The results showed the Az91D/CeO₂ composite exhibited higher density (1.96 g/cm3) and lower porosity (1.01%) compared to other materials due to the diffusion of CeO₂ nanoparticles in between the atoms of Az91D alloy. The hardness of Az91D/ CeO₂ & Az91D/ La₂O₃ was improved by 38% and 34%, respectively, compared to Az91D alloy owing to the reinforcing effect of hard nanoparticles. Further, the inclusion of nanoparticles decreased the mass loss and showed lower wear rate compared to the Az91D alloy due to the pinning effect of nanoparticles. In addition, the friction coefficient was observed in the order of Az91D > Az91D/ La₂O₃ > Az91D/ CeO₂. Moreover, the heat treatment displayed positive results on the properties of all the materials.

This work is original as the combination of cerium oxide nanoparticles with Az91D magnesium alloy is not tried by earlier investigators. Further, the comparative performance of both lanthanum and cerium oxide nanoparticles on the tribological and mechanical behavior of Az91D alloy has been analyzed for aviation application. This study will provide new information to the scientific world to increase the lifetime of aviation structures.