Study of Mechanical and Tribological Characteristics of Aluminium Alloy Reinforced with Sugarcane Bagasse Ash

Abstract

Metal matrix composites are the materials in which reinforcement materials are added to improve their properties. The main problem associated with the Metal Matrix Composites is the high cost of reinforcement material. To overcome this obstacle, a need arises to look for low cost reinforcements like Sugarcane Bagasse Ash (SCBA), Rice Husk Ash (RHA), Fly Ash etc. In the present paper, the Mechanical and tribological Properties (i.e. wear and friction) of Al6061 reinforced with SCBA and fabricated by stir casting technique are studied. The volume fraction of SCBA reinforcement is varied in the range of 4-12% by volume. The reinforcement of SCBA particles increases the tensile strength of the Aluminium alloy. From the micro-hardness test conducted on Vickers micro-hardness tester, it is observed that micro-hardness of the alloy slightly decreases with increase in volume fraction of the reinforcement. The amount of wear depth decreases with increase in volume fraction of SCBA indicating higher wear resistance for the composite. From the Tribological tests it was also concluded that with higher volume fraction of the co-efficient of friction is higher. From the studies conducted it can be concluded that addition of RHA reinforcement improved the mechanical and Tribological properties of aluminium Al6061 alloy.