Effects of Hot-rolling Reduction on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of GNPs/Ti Composites

Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs)/Ti composites were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and hot-rolling. This work was focused on the effects of rolling reduction on microstructure and mechanical properties of GNPs/Ti composites. The SEM microstructure results show that matrix grains are gradually elongated and the amount of GNPs along the rolling direction rises with the increase of rolling reduction. The tensile test results indicate that the ultimate tensile strength and fracture elongation of the GNPs/Ti composites increase with the increase of rolling reduction. The ultimate tensile strength of the composites at 60% rolling reduction is 680 MPa, which is increased by 33% compared with pure Ti. Hot-rolling process can relieve defects and lead to GNPs aligned along the rolling direction, which improves the tensile property.