Fabrication of aluminum metal matrix composite with carbon nanoparticles via stir casting

Abstract

In the aircraft industry, the material used to manufacture an aircraft plays a huge role as it has to meet certain criteria such as weight, strength, cost, toughness and durability. Composites are the ideal choice for such. A composite is an advanced material which has properties that are different compared to its constituent’s properties. A composite is made by combining at least two different materials having different properties. Among this, an MMC is a metal matrix composite which has gained credibility in the automotive industry. In this project, we are making an AMMC which has an aluminium metal matrix and any fibre or particle as reinforcements. Due to their numerous applications, there has been an increased use of AMMC in aerospace, automobile, and defence sector while the key benefit was in the transportation sector as aluminium metal matrix composites reduce weight of the structure, which lowers fuel consumption, cost and airborne pollutants. The preparation of AMMC is done by stir casting method as it is economical and is relatively at a lower cost when compared to other preparation techniques. The challenge is to obtain a homogeneous mixture of aluminium as the matrix and carbon nanoparticles as reinforcement because aluminium has poor wet ability. To overcome this, an additional wetting agent has been added in order to obtain desired properties. Finally, various mechanical tests like hardness, impact and tensile tests are done to study the change in mechanical properties obtained in aluminium metal matrix composite. Finally, the microstructure of the composite is studied through a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), from which we see the chemistry of constituent components on the surface to ensure proper bonding between the matrix and the reinforcements of the composite.