Mechanical and Wear Characterization of Al6061 Red Mud Composites

Abstract

An Investigation was carried out to study the effect of red mud reinforcement in Al6061 for hardness, wear rate and co-efficient of friction. The red mud 30-40nm size particles synthesized using Ball milling was preheated in a furnace to 400o C and mixed with molten Al6061 alloy to make the composite specimens. Al6061 red composite specimens were manufactured by stir casting technique using Al6061 alloy as matrix and reinforced with 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% volume percentages red mud as the reinforcement. The Al6061 red mud composite specimens were T6 heat treated to improve the mechanical properties. The artificial aging time and aging duration were varied to study their effect on mechanical properties of the composites. Then the specimen’s hardness, wear rate and coefficient of friction were tested as per ASTM standards. It was found that the hardness increased when the red mud content was increased in the base alloy at all the heat treatment conditions. The peak age timing which gives highest hardness was found to decrease with increased red mud content. The wear rate was decreased when the hardness was increased