TGA/DTA‐Based Sintering Optimization of Al‐Graphene‐B 4 C Hybrid Composites and Effect on Mechanical and Tribological Behavior

ABSTRACT Sintering is one of the most critical stages in powder metallurgy‐produced composites, which directly affects density, microstructure, and interfacial bonding capability. In this study, graphene and B 4 C‐reinforced aluminum matrix hybrid composites were produced by the powder metallurgy method, and the effects of sintering temperature were evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) and X‐Ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses. The density, hardness, and wear properties of the produced composites were determined experimentally. The optimum sintering temperatures were determined as 615°C for Al─Cu─Mg─Zn (AL0), 600°C for 0.5 wt.% graphene‐reinforced composites (ALG05), and 614°C for hybrid composites reinforced with 0.5 wt.% graphene and 15 wt.% B 4 C (ALG05B15). While the addition of graphene provided only a limited increase in hardness compared to the AL0 alloy, the hybrid composites achieved a significant improvement, reaching 100 HB. The wear test results indicated that the wear resistance of the hybrid composites was enhanced due to the increased matrix hardness and improved interfacial bonding. The lowest wear volume of 0.384 mm 3 , a specific wear rate of 5.12 × 10 −4 mm 3 /N·m, and a coefficient of friction of 0.449 were obtained for the ALG05B15.2 hybrid composite sintered at 614°C.