Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Composite Al6061/Ni-Al2O3 Produced by Stir Casting Process

Abstract

Composites are widely used material types today, and it is known that matrices and additives in composites improve the mechanical properties of the material. In this study, Al6061 matrix and Ni-Al2O3 reinforced composite material was produced by stir casting method and the effect of Ni- Al2O3 mixture reinforcement on the hardness and tensile properties of the produced composite material was investigated. The determination of the mechanical properties of the samples obtained after the casting process was determined by the results of microhardness analysis and tensile test, and the internal structure of the material was examined by XRD analysis. According to the results of XRD analysis, it was determined that Ni and Al2O3 phases were formed together with the matrix element Al. The results of the tensile analyzes showed that the amount of strain in the composite material changed depending on the ratio of the reinforcement element, and the highest strain value occurred in the Ni-Al2O3 reinforced sample with Al matrix. However, it was observed that the brittle fracture mechanism was effective in all samples. While the highest microhardness value was obtained in sample 4 (Al6061+ (mass. %15) Ni+ Al2O3) with 89.6 HV0.5 value, the lowest microhardness value was obtained from pure Al sample with 66.7 HV0.5 value. As a result, it was determined that the Ni-Al2O3 reinforcement element increased the microhardness value in the Al matrix composite material.