Examining the mechanical behaviour of B4C/SiC reinforced Al-Si alloy hybrid composites using solid state processing method

Abstract

The current work involved the fabrication of B4C/SiC reinforced Al-Si alloys utilising the powder metallurgy process. The weight proportions of B4C were varied while maintaining SiC constant to study the influence of B4C reinforcement in improving hardness and compressive strength. The applied pressure for compacting and the temperature for sintering were kept at 600 MPa and 850 °C, respectively. An optical microscope was utilised to assess the microstructural investigations, and the performance measurements were examined in accordance with the standards of ASTM. Observation indicates that the ceramic reinforcement particles are uniformly distributed within the Al-Si alloy matrix. The hard ceramic particles are present in a spherical shape within the matrix, while the secondary reinforcement particles are found along the grain boundaries. Due to the reduction in grain size and uniform dispersion, the hardness and compressive strength improved significantly.