Preparation of Nanosize Bone Powder from Waste and Development of Al Composite through Squeeze Casting Process

Abstract

Al6061 alloy is most commonly used in automotive, marine, and aerospace applications to lighten the composite and increase its strength. Al6061 alloy is a precipitation-hardened aluminum alloy used as a matrix material. Beef bone is a biowaste that has polluted the environment and the people who live in the vicinity of its manufacturing and disposal sites. Biowaste has been used in a variety of ways by researchers in recent years, including activated carbon, water purification, reinforcement in composites, fillers, additives, etc. Beef bones that had been abandoned as waste were collected, cleaned, and grounded into a fine powder with a particle size of 50–100 nm and used as reinforcement. Squeeze casting process is used to create the newly created aluminum composite (Al6061 + 0%, 5%, 10% of bone powder). The aluminum composite was fabricated and three samples were successfully obtained for further testing and analysis. The prepared Al composites with nanopowder reinforcement are analyzed for surface morphology, elemental identification, hardness, porosity, tensile strength, and compression strength. The percentage of porosity in the composite is improved by 36.7% when compared to the Al6061 alloy. Similarly, the tensile strength of the produced composite is increased to 5.59%. A significant improvement is observed in the wear resistance and hardness of the composite as 54.55% and 48.65%, respectively.