Abstract
Aluminum based hybrid metal matrix composite with more than two particle reinforcement is very much popular for heavy duty application, and the proportion of these particle reinforcement can be controlled to achieve desired mechanical properties (strength and wear resistance). AA 6061 alloys popularly used in aircraft and automobile applications, tends to have inferior tribological property and therefore particle reinforcements are being made to strengthen the matrix. The prime objective of this investigation is to study the effect of varying wt.% of proportionate individual reinforcement (SiC and B4C) on the mechanical properties of a particular composition (6 wt.%) of AA 6061 hybrid composite. The present investigation is done to evaluate the dependance of hard particle reinforcements on the strength and elongation behaviour of hybrid composite. Hardness measurement and uniaxial loading techniques were used to characterize the mechanical properties of the as-cast hybrid composites, whereas OM, XRD and SEM analysis was done to study the distribution of reinforcement within the base (AA 6061) metal matrix phase. The improvement in mechanical properties, such as Vickers hardness, UTS, yield strength and elongation were presented and explained using various hypothesis proposed by previous studies. The role of clustering theory and effect of binary eutectic Mg2Si phase found to be key the enhanced mechanical properties of the hybrid composites. Addition of Alkaline Earth Metal (Mg) during the synthesis process have led to an increase in the elongation of hybrid composite with the increase in wt.% of reinforcement which is analogous to the effect of alkali metals (‘Na’ and ‘Li’) addition that helps in refining the Mg2Si Eutectic phase.
Highlights
Al based Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) are extensively used in automotive applications due its light weight and excellent mechanical properties
As far as reinforcements are concerned, variety of filler materials ranging from macro to nano size particles in both polymer and metal matrix composite, fiber type filling materials for laminated composites and some cry-treated particle hardened filler material are commonly practiced for the synthesis of composite material [1,2,3,4]
A comparison of individual properties of AA6061 aluminum alloy, B4C and silicon carbide (SiC) is given in Table 1, and the density of Al base alloy is almost equal to the boron carbide, whereas the SiC seems to be relatively dense
Summary
Al based Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) are extensively used in automotive applications due its light weight and excellent mechanical properties Despite having such outstanding property, continuous efforts are being made to improve its strength and stiffness, and as a result of this, researchers have tried to add numerous reinforcement (particle) into the base metal [1]. As far as reinforcements are concerned, variety of filler materials ranging from macro to nano size particles in both polymer and metal matrix composite, fiber type filling materials for laminated composites and some cry-treated particle hardened filler material are commonly practiced for the synthesis of composite material [1,2,3,4] Out of these reinforcements discussed, Aluminum [MMCs] with particulate reinforcement showed promising results in the form of improved strength and high stiffness which are more desirable for automotive and aircraft industry. The hardness of boron carbide and Silicon carbide is much higher than Al base alloy and the presence of B4C (hardest among all) may affect the hardness of the Al hybrid metal matrix composite [AHMMCs]
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