Fabrication and characterization two step stir casting with ultrasonic assisted novel AA7150-hBN nanocomposites

Abstract

The Al7150 alloy plays a vital role in aerospace and automotive industry applications due to its extraordinary characteristics like strength to weight ratio, toughness and fatigue resistance. But in the current scenario researchers are looking for significant improvement in wear resistance at various service loads. It is in such a context this paper deals with the fabrication, mechanical and wear resistance properties investigation of the Al7150-hBN nanocomposites, which is fabricated through ultrasonic assisted double Stir casting technique and compared with monolithic material. The microstructure studies were carried out through Optical Microscope (OM) for grain structure, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for particle distribution, ultimate tensile strength including the morphological studies related to fracture surface and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy for elemental analysis. The pin on disc tribometer was used to study the tribological characteristics of the developed nano-composite materials by varying the applied loads and weight percentage of hBN reinforcement at a constant sliding speed and distance. The SEM images of the worn-out surfaces were studied extensively to study the tribological properties.