Thermal expansion behaviors of aluminum composite reinforced with carbon nanotubes

The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of aluminum matrix composite reinforced with 1.0wt.% multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) fabricated by cold isostatic pressing and hot squeeze technique was measured between 25 and 400 °C with a high-precision thermomechanical analyzer, and compared with those of pure aluminum and 2024Al matrix fabricated under the same processing. The results show that the CTE of the composite obviously reduces in relation to those of pure aluminum and 2024Al matrix due to the introduction of MWNTs. The addition of 1.0wt.% MWNTs to 2024Al matrix decreases the CTE by as much as 12% and 11% compared with those of pure aluminum and 2024Al matrix at 50 °C, respectively, which indicates that carbon nanotube reinforced metal matrix composite may be a promising materials with low CTE.