Abstract
Objective: To develop and evaluate the mechanical behavior of 3, 6, 9 and 12 wt. % of B4C reinforced Al6061 alloy composites. Method: These composites were produced by utilizing stir cast process. The prepared metal composites were characterized by SEM, EDS and XRD analysis to know the distribution of particles as well as presence of particles in the Al6061 alloy. Various mechanical properties were evaluated as per ASTM standards to know the impact of boron carbide particles on the properties of metal composites. Findings: By adding B4C particles the hardness, ultimate tensile, yield strength and compression strength of the Al6061 alloy matrix was enhanced 23.9%, 15.4 14.9% and 34.7% respectively. Further, there was slight decrease in the percentage elongation of B4C reinforced composites. Novelty: In the present research Al6061 alloy with 3 to 12 wt. % of B4C composites were synthesized by novel stir casting method called as two stage reinforcement addition process. In this process 80 micron sized boron carbide particles added in two stages into the molten Al6061 alloy to improve the wettability between the matrix and reinforcement particles. Keywords Al6061 Alloy, B 4 C Particles, Hardness, Tensile Strength, Microstructure
Highlights
Metal composites are widely used materials in the field of automotive and aerospace sectors [1,2,3]
Aluminum 6061 matrix is picked as alloy because of its more prominent, strength, formability, heat-treatment nature, great obstruction to wear, machinability and wide applications in a few areas and so forth while B4C particles were used as reinforcements (Figure 1)
It is noticed that as the B4C weight percentage increases, both peak magnitudes and peak areas noticeably increased for the B4C. It is observed from the X-ray diffraction pattern a peak ranging from 100 to 800 and the peaks at 2θ of 280, 44.770, and 64.940 belongs to aluminium and peaks are shifted to right with the addition of the reinforcement which indicates the presence of B4C in the composite
Summary
Metal composites are widely used materials in the field of automotive and aerospace sectors [1,2,3]. The age hardened Al7075/ (SiC+ Al2O3) composite shows appreciable improvement in resistance to wear as compared to as-cast hybrid composite. Based on the literature maximum investigations were carried out on metal matrix composites prepared by using conventional stir casting process. By using conventional stir casting process it is very difficult to have proper wettability between matrix and reinforcing particles, to improve the wettability, in the present research novel two steps or stage casting method is adopted to prepare the various Al6061-B4C composites. From the available literature it is observed that many researchers have attempted to study the effects of addition of SiC, Al2O3, TiB2, TiC and TiO2 reinforcement on mechanical, tribological characteristics of aluminium based AMC’s. A limited work has been done to develop and study the behavior of Al 6061-B4C metal composites and in this research work attempts are made fabricate and study the mechanical and tribological behavior of Al6061- B4C composites
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