Fabrication of AA7050 Hybrid Composite Reinforced with Nano Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/ Micro ZrO<sub>2</sub> Particles by Stir Casting Method and Study of Mechanical and Tribological Properties

Abstract

AA7050 aluminum alloy with desirable mechanical properties like strength, stress corrosion resistance, and toughness widely used in aerospace applications. In this study AA7050/Al2O3/ZrO2, hybrid composites fabricated with different wt. % of reinforcement materials (0.5, 1, 1.5 wt. % ZrO2, and 1wt. % Al2O3 constant for all composites) by using stir casting process. The SEM image has shown the uniform distribution of the reinforcement particles in the AA7050 matrix with the addition of 1wt% Al2O3 and 1wt% ZrO2 reinforcement. The compressive strength is increased from 9.41% to 10.47% and tensile strength 4.74% to 10.27% for the composite of 1wt %Al2O3 and varying 0.5 and 1 % wt ZrO2 compare to base alloy. From the dry wear studies, the composite with 1wt% Al2O3 and 1wt% ZrO2 have observed minimum wear loss and coefficient of friction at sliding velocity from 1.9896 to 3.9793m/s and at varying load condition from 20N to 60N compared to base alloy.