The mechanical strength and wear behavior of Al–AlN metal matrix nanocomposites synthesized using melt metallurgy technique is investigated. Uniformly dispersed nanostructured AlN particulates in nanocomposites are found to improve the mechanical properties. Detailed study on compressive and tensile test is attempted in the present work to understand the mechanism of deformation in nanocomposites. Adhesive dry wear test results indicate that applied load has strong influence on wear behavior of nanocomposites compared to the sliding distance. Porosity and weak agglomeration of nanoparticles are found to significantly affect the wear behavior and mechanical strength of synthesized nanocomposites. It is revealed that the transfer of load from matrix to reinforcement particulate is not an instantaneous phenomenon but initiates after some incubation period depending on the fraction of porosity in nanocomposites during compressive and tensile testing.
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