Effect of SiCp reinforcement on mechanical properties of Al 6061 by Powder Metallurgy

Abstract

Silicon carbide reinforced aluminium have been developed since past 3 decades for many structural and automotive applications especially for manufacturing gears due to their excellent characteristics such as light weight, high strength, good wear resistance and other mechanical properties. Gears are transmission components that requires high wear resistance as well as self-lubrication properties while performing the needed operations. The present research elucidates the addition of particle reinforcement with Al6061 with particle size 50 µm and different weight percentages of Silicon carbide (SiCp) such as 3, 6 and 9 for gear blank application. The addition of SiCp with Al6061 enhance its properties and provides prolonged use of gear for many applications. In this study, the gear blank has been produced via traditional powder metallurgy method by adding Zinc stearate as binding agent. The compacted green part was further processed with sintering process with 500°C in muffle furnace. The sintered gear blank was examined for mechanical properties such as hardness and surface roughness according to ASTM standards. The influence of SiCp with Al6061 were evaluated by incrementing the SiCp. It was seen that there was an increase in the hardness showing the dispersion of hard particles SiCp throughout the structure. Further, the surface roughness varied depending on the process and heat treatment of compacted composites. This study gives better understanding about the effect SiCp reinforcement on mechanical properties of Al6061 metal matrix.