Aluminium Based Metal Matrix Composites Research Articles

Surface characterization and mechanical behavior of aluminum based metal matrix composite reinforced with nano Al2O3, SiC, TiO2 particles

Aluminum based metal matrix composites (AMMCs) have the potential for replacing conventional monolithic materials due to excellent fatigue, creep and wear resistance, high temperature retention, and high strength to weight ratio. Thus Aluminum based metal matrix composites have several applications in different industries including Aerospace and Automotive. This study revealed that Al 6063 based metal matrix composites reinforced with Al2O3, SiC, TiO2 have higher hardness, tensile strength, and yield strength as compared to the pure Al 6063. This study shows that hardness, tensile strength, and yield strength are increasing as increasing SiC particles content. Microstructure and surface morphological studies have been carried out to see their surface and particles distribution. Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and XRD analysis have been conducted to identify elements content. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis is carried out to identify chemical functional group of the Al6063 metal matrix composites.

Fatigue and Fracture Behavior of Al6061-B4C Aluminium Matrix Composites

In the present day engineering design and development activities many Scientists, Researchers and Engineers are striving hard to develop new and better engineering materials, which accomplishes high strength, low weight and energy efficient materials since the problems of environment and energy are major threshold areas. The development of new materials is growing day by day to replace the conventional materials in aerospace, marine engineering, automobile engineering industries etc., Hence, composite materials are found to be an alternative. A variety of metals and their alloys such as Aluminum, Magnesium and Titanium are comprehensively used as matrix materials. Among these Aluminium alloys have been used extensively, because of their excellent strength, low density, corrosion resistance and toughness. Similarly, many researchers have attempted to develop aluminum based metal matrix composites using different reinforcements such as SiC, Al2O3, B4C, TiC, TiO2, B4C etc., are added to the matrix to get required MMC’s. Among these reinforcements, B4C emerged as an exceptional reinforcement due to its high strength to density ratio, possesses high hardness and avoid the formation of interfacial reaction products with aluminum. Hence, in this paper attempts are made to fabricate Al 6061-3, 6, 9 and 12 wt.% B4C metal matrix composites by stir casting process to study fatigue life and fracture toughness as per ASTM standards. It is evident that fatigue strength and fracture toughness of the composites were enhanced with the addition of the wt.% of the reinforcement.

Study on Wear Property of MWCNT's reinforced with Aluminium 2024 Metal Matrix Composites with Nickel Coating

Various metal matrix composites (MMCs) are widely used in the automotive, aerospace and electrical industries due to their capability and flexibility in improving the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of a component. However, current manufacturing technologies may suffer from insufficient process stability, reliability and inadequate economic efficiency and may not be able to satisfy the increasing demands placed on MMCs. So CNT based Aluminium based metal matrix composites (MMCs) has been a better choice for the industrial applications due to their Inherent properties like ductile, highly conductive, lightweight and have a high strength to weight ratio. In this study, Multiwall carbon nanotube(MWCNT) which is emerged as an excellent reinforcement material and 2024 aluminium alloy being a matrix material were selected for the development of MMC‟s. Stir casting process being a low cost casting technology which has potential to produce MMCs having agility to large scale production with great manufacturing flexibility, quality and high efficiency. In this work, The experimental investigation of CNT reinforced 2024 Aluminium MMCs under Stir casting technique were explored. Casted samples were prepared with different wt. % of reinforcements(i.e. 0.5 %, 1.0%, 1.5% & 2 % CNT‟s with 40micron nickel coating on the surface using electro-less plating process) and compared with unreinforced aluminium specimens for the investigation of Wear properties has been evaluated as per ASTM standard.

Study on Mechanical Properties of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Reinforced with Aluminium 2024 Matrix Composites with Nickel Coating

Various metal matrix composites (MMCs) are widely used in the automotive, aerospace and electrical industries due to their capability and flexibility in improving the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of a component. However, current manufacturing technologies may suffer from insufficient process stability, reliability and inadequate economic efficiency and may not be able to satisfy the increasing demands placed on MMCs. So CNT based Aluminium based metal matrix composites (MMCs) has been a better choice for the industrial applications due to their Inherent properties like ductile, highly conductive, lightweight and have a high strength to weight ratio. In this study, Multiwall carbon nanotube(MWCNT) which is emerged as a excellent reinforcement material and 2024 aluminium alloy being a matrix material were selected for the development of MMC’s. Stir casting process being a low cost casting technology which has potential to produce MMCs having agility to large scale production with great manufacturing flexibility, quality and high efficiency. In this work, The experimental investigation of CNT reinforced 2024 Aluminium MMCs under Stir casting technique were explored. Casted samples were prepared with different wt % of reinforcements(i.e., 0.5 %, 1.0%, 1.5% & 2 % CNT’s with 40micron nickel coating on the surface using electro-less plating process) and compared with unreinforced aluminium specimens for the investigation of mechanical properties such as Tensile, Compressive, and Hardness has been evaluated as per ASTM standard.

Investigation of Mechanical Behaviour for Aluminum Based Metal Matrix Composites under Room Temperature to High Temperature Condition

Investigation of Mechanical Behaviour for Aluminum Based Metal Matrix Composites under Room Temperature to High Temperature Condition

Properties of 12% reinforced Aluminium Based Metal Matrix Composites

It is always endeavor of ongoing research in material science to take advantage of specific or particular properties of the constituent material present in a composite material. Aluminum based metal matrix composites have been developed to tailor the properties. Aluminum is a preferred choice for metal matrix composites (MMC) for several reasons like low density, high thermal and electrical conductivity and good damping capacity. Al-MMCs exhibit improved mechanical properties, when reinforced by ceramics like Al2O3 and SiC. This paper presents an experimental study to produce Al-MMC by powder metallurgy process in which fine aluminum powder reinforced by ceramic particles like SiC and Al2O3 by 12% of its total weight. The green compact is produced using a set of die and punch and necessary compaction of blended powder is obtained using a mounting press. Sintering of green compact is carried out at temperature of 95% of melting point of matrix material for 1 hour. The study of density, hardness, compressive strength and dry sliding wear capability of fabricated MMC is attempted. The average hardness of MMC is found to be increased 2-3 times as compared to pure commercial aluminium with deviation of 11% in the density obtained experimentally.

Experimentation on Mechanical Properties and Machinability of Al7075/Al2o3/Gr/Sic Metal Matrix Component

Aluminum based metal matrix composite was prepared by stir casting process. Generally metal matrix composites are having some benefits due to the present’s reinforcement particles. Basically aluminum material does not have much strength, for increasing its strength and mechanical properties reinforcement particles are like SiC, Boron Carbide, Aluminum Oxide, Titanium Carbide, Fly Ash, Graphite added to base material. In this experiment 2.5% of Al2O3, 5% of Graphite and 5% of Silicon Carbide are added toAl7075 (base material). The Microstructure of composite has been identified under optical microscope. Impact, Hardness, Tensile tests were conducted to find out the strength of the metal matrix composite. To find out the surface finish of composites after machining Taguchi method was adopted for the design of experiments and L9 Orthogonal array was taken to identify the optimum machining parameters affecting surface finish. In adding of 2.5% of Al2O3, 5% of Gr and 5% of SiC the Impact Strength of Izod test is decreased by 23%, 30%, 46% and the Impact Strength of Charpy test is increased by 20%,-20%, and 20% respectively. The Brinell hardness value and Rockwell Hardness is increased by 9%, 3%, 28% and 9%, 1%, 6% respectively compare to the base material Al7075.Tensile Strength is decreased by 17%, 12%, 50% by adding of 2.5% of Al2O3, 5% of Gr and 5% of SiC respectively compare to base alloy. The better surface finish is obtained at speed 1500 rpm, feed 0.05 mm/rev and 1 mm depth of cut for the materials Al7075.The lowest Tool Wear occurred for the material Al7075 at1000 rpm, feed at 0.05 mm/rev and depth of cut at 0.25.

Tribological study of Al-6063-based metal matrix embedded with SiC–Al2O3–TiO2 particles

Aluminium-based metal matrix composites play a significant role in the field of aerospace, automobile, structural, and military applications due to their enhanced mechanical and tribological properties that contrasted to monolithic materials. Severe metal service conditions, such as cutting, grinding, and drilling and demand tribological and mechanical properties, must be improved. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) reinforced with filler particles are covenant materials for rectifying these issues. This study experimentally investigated the effect of normal load and sliding velocity on the friction and wear properties of Al-6063-based MMC embedded with filler particles. Experiments were conducted under normal loads of 5 N, 7.5 N, and 10 N and velocities of 0.5 m/s, 1 m/s, and 1.5 m/s. The experimental results revealed controlling friction and wear rate of aluminium-based MMC. The friction coefficient and wear resistance were improved by the aluminium-based MMC. The morphology of the metal matrix composites was analysed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDS). The applied load, sliding velocity, SiC, Al2O3, and TiO2 significantly affect the friction coefficient and wear loss. Chemical properties were investigated through Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, and the peak values were identified. The analysis can be used to predict the tribological properties of Al-6063 MMC in engineering applications.

Effect of Substituting SiC in Varying Proportions for TiC in Al-5052/TiC/SiC Hybrid MMC

Aluminum-based metal matrix composites are evolving rapidly to cater to the specific needs of the industry. Al 5052 is an alloy of aluminum that possesses high strength and corrosion resistance. It is readily weldable, light in weight, and gives smooth surface finish. The present work target is to improve the mechanical and wear properties of Al 5052 through the addition of reinforcements, silicon carbide (SiC), and titanium carbide (TiC). Stir casting method was utilized for the fabrication of the above hybrid composites by varying the proportion of reinforcements. The first specimen, SP1, is fabricated with 7.5% SiC and 2.5% TiC; the second one, SP2, with 5% SiC and 5% TiC; and the third one, SP3, with 2.5% SiC and 7.5% TiC. Hardness, tensile strength, and wear properties of the above three specimens have been determined using Brinell Hardness tester, Universal Testing Machine (UTM), and Pin-on-Disk wear testing machine, respectively. SP3 has been evaluated to be the better one with regard to improving hardness and tensile strength and recording less wear compared to SP1 and SP2.

Study of tribological behaviour of hybrid metal matrix composites prepared by stir casting method

In today’s world, there is an increase in need and demand for the advanced materials. The development of composite materials is one of the major innovations in the field of science and technology. Now a days, composite materials have applications in various areas of our day to day life like doors, furniture, kitchen tools, cars etc. In automobile, aerospace industries and defence sector, there is need of a lightweight material but while material must be strong enough to carry more weight and withstand high forces and stresses. These demands are fulfilled by aluminium based Metal Matrix Composites. The Stir casting method is commonly used method for preparing these Aluminium based Metal Matrix Composites. The stir casting method is less expensive and simple. This paper presents a review on the comparison of tribological behaviour of stir cast single reinforcement Metal Matrix Composite and hybrid reinforcement Metal Matrix Composite. Addition of aluminium oxide to aluminum has shown an improvement in its tribological and mechanical properties. This review concludes with recommendations for future research directions for aluminium based Metal Matrix Composites.

Hardness and toughness evaluation of developed Al metal matrix composite using stir casting method

Composite materials have many unique properties which mostly conventional materials usually do not comprise. One of these properties is the better volume to weight ratio which is very useful for designing of components of aircrafts, automobiles, domestic appliances and electronic devices. However some challenges occur in development of homogenous metal matrix composites because of different phases of matrix material and reinforcement materials. In this study, three different aluminium based metal matrix composites have been developed by varying the percentage of matrix (Al6063) and reinforcement (flyash and Al2O3) materials by using stir casting method and after that the hardness and toughness have been determined. Stir casting method has been used because of its low cost setup and portability. Result shows that the contribution of Al2O3 particles plays an important role in increasing the hardness of composite material.

Machining of Aluminium Metal Matrix Composite: A Review

Abstract Machining of metal matrix composite materials is not such easy as compare to monolithic materials like steel, aluminium etc. the reason is highly abrasive nature of reinforcement present in composite which results in damage of work piece and wear development in cutting tool. Cutting tool plays a major role as far as machining is concerned, the objective of machining is to produce a product of desired shape and size with required surface quality and finish. Aluminium based metal matrix composites (AMMC’s) finds wide industrial applications such as automobile, aerospace and sports related industries due to their excellent mechanical and physical properties. The cost of machining of a manufactured component amounts 20 % more the value of manufactured product and eighty percent manufactured parts need machining before they are ready to use. In this paper elaborated review has been done regarding problem encountered while machining these materials and especially conventional machining processes like turning and milling has been focused

Electro-discharge machining of metal matrix composites - a review

Influence of reinforcement content and machining process parameters on material removal rate, electrode wear rate and surface roughness is reviewed extensively from open literature during electro-discharge machining of aluminium based metal matrix composites. Results indicate increase of reinforcement content and their particle size affects the material removal rate, electrode wear rate and surface roughness adversely. Increase in discharge current causes an increase of electrode wear rate and surface roughness. Material removal rate and electrode wear rate increase or decrease with the increase of pulse-on current and pulse-off current, which depend on material processing parameters and other machining conditions; however, surface roughness increases on increasing the pulse-on time. Increase in flushing pressure effects all the three machining quality characteristics favourably.

Mechanical Characterization of Stir Cast Al-7075/B4C/Graphite Reinforced Hybrid Metal Matrix Composites

Abstract The modern technology requires the materials with light weight, high strength, high stiffness and superior mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of metal matrix composites (MMCs) are critical to their potential application as structural materials. A systematic examination is required to study the effect of particulate weight fraction on the mechanical properties. Aluminium based metal matrix composites find varied applications in aerospace, defence, automobile, sports equipment and electronics due to their favourable properties. Al 7075 is a light weight castable alloy with moderate hardness and strength and finds applications in automotive and aerospace. The addition of refractory reinforcement generally improves the hardness, tensile strength and high temperature properties of the material. The present investigation focuses on characterization of Stir cast Al-7075/B4C/Graphite reinforced Hybrid Metal Matrix Composites. Adding B4C with varying reinforcement of three cases, in first case 2% constant with varying graphite 1%, 3%, and 5%, in second case 4%, and in third case 6% constant with varying same graphite percentage, the aluminum matrix hybrid composites have been fabricated by stir-casting method at 650 °C. Castings for tensile testing were prepared in circular metal mold of diameter 20 mm and length 120 mm. The specimens of 55×10×10 mm with 2 mm notch for impact test, 20×10×10 mm for microscopy analysis and hardness test are cut from a cast ingot of 100×50×10 mm using CNC EDM wire cutting. Specimens are prepared as per the ASTM standards and Microstructure investigation, ultimate tensile strength, impact strength and hardness measurements have been correlated with the percentage of B4C and Graphite particles. The effects of B4C and Graphite particle content on the mechanical properties were investigated. The grain size by using the mean intercept length method, Standard deviation and 95% confidence intervals were determined at different weight fractions.

A review on turning analysis of industrial waste reinforced aluminum metal matrix composite

Over the years many authors research on Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites reinforced with various chemical particulates. Now a day's researchers found industrial waste as reinforcement which reduces the industrialized expenditure of products as well as reduces the pollution of the environment. This also increases the properties of material. Due to this, day by day the application of industrial waste reinforced, Aluminum based Metal Matrix Composites increasing. In this review paper, the industrial waste like fly ash, red mud, cenospheres ash are considered as reinforcement. Many researchers have cited the effect of industrial waste on Mechanical and tribological analysis of metal matrix composite based on Aluminum alloy. But very few researchers have worked on Machinability analysis of industrial waste reinforced metal matrix composite. Therefore, this paper represents a brief literature review on the machinability analysis of industrial waste reinforced metal matrix composite. In this survey the impact of machining parameters on surface roughness, cutting tool life, tool wear, power consumption are investigated. From the literature it is found that due to an increase in cutting speed and feed there is a decrease in surface roughness and the tool life decreases due to an increase in weight % of reinforcement. But power consumption increments because of increment in cutting rate and feed rate. In this survey it is also noticed that Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites reinforced with industrial waste applicable automotive, aerospace, and construction industries.

Effect of ceramic particles on precipitation in an Al-Mg-Si alloy with silicon excess during ageing

Providing a good balance between lightweight and high mechanical properties, the aluminum-based metal matrix composites (MMC) became an interesting alternative for specific industrial applications. However, considering an Al-Mg-Si alloy with a high silicon excess, the ceramic particles added as reinforcement can act on : i) the precipitation kinetics of the coherent and semi-coherent phases, ii) the precipitation sequence of the alloy and iii) the loss of mechanical strength from a peak-aged microstructure obtained by a T6 condition. In order to understand the influence of reinforcement on these aspects, the composite was characterized during isothermal ageing between 100°C and 350°C, allowing us to propose an experimental Isothermal Transformation Curve. Compared to the unreinforced alloy, heterogeneous precipitation of disordered semi-coherent phases occurs on dislocations and the precipitation kinetics were found to be accelerated in the composite leading to an acceleration of the loss of strength from the T6 state, due to the precipitation of the Type-C phase. A study performed on a deformed alloy, demonstrated that the most of the differences observed between the unreinforced alloy and the composite can be explained by the high dislocation density generated in the matrix of the composite due to the presence of ceramic particles. Finally, the JMAK approach turned out to be a powerful tool to model the decrease in mechanical strength occurring during isothermal treatments from T6 state.

Mechanical properties and wear behavior of fly ash particle reinforced Al matrix composites

In this study, aluminum-based metal matrix composites containing 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% fly ash particles by weight have been fabricated using a stir casting route. Microstructural observations under an optical microscope suggest that fly ash particles in the cast composites are uniformly distributed throughout the matrix. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength and hardness of the aluminum alloy have enhanced significantly with the addition of fly ash. Wear behavior of base metal and its composite have been studied in dry sliding conditions using a pin-on-disc tribometer. Wear tests have been conducted at three different loads of 9.81, 19.62, and 29.43 N at a constant sliding velocity of 1.3 m s−1. Microstructural observations of worn surfaces and wear debris suggest that wear mechanism in base metal is controlled by adhesion, whereas that for composites is abrasive. The least wear rate has been obtained in Al-10% Fly ash composite. The Al-10% Fly ash is observed to possess an optimum level of mechanical properties and wear behavior.

Automotive industry application of aluminium-based hybrid metal matrix composite

Monolithic materials cannot fulfil the demands for the advanced industrial requirements. Therefore, composite materials which possess the combined properties of different constituents are developed. In this experimental work, Al 6061 was used as matrix and Al2O3, SiC and E glass short fibres were used as the reinforcement material. The composite specimen is fabricated through stir casting by varying the weight percentage of reinforcements and matrix materials. The investigation concluded that the load and sliding speed are expanded to improve the wear rate, and developing the sliding distance the wear rate is decreased. The different compositions of the materials are tested by using Pin on Disc apparatus to find the wear rate. From the experimental results the least wear rate is obtained in the composition (C4) of 70% wt of Al 6061, 15% wt of Al2O3, 9% wt of SiC and 6% wt of E glass short fibre.

Manufacturing of metal matrix composites: A state of review

Since the last few decades, the universal need for economical, efficient and lightweight stiff materials has changed research trends from base alloys to composite materials. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) exhibiting a good combination of properties like high strength to weight ratio, low thermal expansion coefficient, good wear and abrasion resistance, etc. that are tough to obtain by monolithic materials. Defect-free microstructure, particle even distribution and good properties of MMCs governed by production method and matrix and reinforcement material. Hybrid MMCs displaying better property combinations than mono composites using more than one reinforcement. Surface MMCs acquired better surface properties along with bulk toughness and ductility. MMCs was produced by both liquid-state and solid-state processing. Wettability, low densification, particle agglomeration and undesired chemical reactions between matrix and reinforcements are the key issues of MMC fabrication, which diminish the material properties. Extensive investigations and progress have been made in the area of aluminum-based MMCs by using different production techniques to acquire the desired material properties. The liquid-state processing stir casting method is very simple and least expensive for the fabrication of MMCs. The solid-state processing was used below matrix melting point to overcome the liquid-state processing limitations. This paper was concise for different fabrication methods of MMCs along with the contribution of reinforcements in the development of advanced composite materials. A summary of substrate, reinforcement, and different methods were used in the fabrication of MMCs with research progress presented. At the end, outlook was given on conclusions and future directions.

Mechanical Characterization of Aluminium-Silicon-Titanium Diboride (Al-Si-TiB2) Reinforced by Scandium (Sc) and Strontium (Sr)

Aluminium based metal matrix composites (MMCs) have better properties and performance. They are commonly used in transport applications which require combinations of high strength and ductility. They are quite attractive due to their low density, capability to be strengthened by precipitation, good corrosion resistance, high thermal and electrical conductivity. Grain refinement plays a crucial role in improving characteristics and properties of aluminium-silicon (Al-Si) alloy. In this investigation, scandium (Sc) and strontium (Sr) elements were added to aluminium-silicon-titanium diboride (Al-Si-TiB2) alloy for refinement of grains. The compositions of 93 wt.% Al-Si, 6 wt.% TiB2, 0.5 wt.% Sc and 0.5 wt.% Sr were melted into induction furnace. Then the composites have been characterized on the mechanical properties and microstructure characterization. Instron tensile machine and vickers hardness tester were used to characterize the mechanical properties of the composite alloy. Microstructure and phase composition were characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). From the results obtained, addition of Sc and Sr, into Al-S-TiB2 improved the tensile strength and hardness of composite alloy. Results also showed that the inoculants addition able to enhance the refinement of grains and escalate the values of hardness and tensile strength of Al-Si-TiB2 composite. Mechanical properties related much on the microstructure as it can be seen that the addition of grain refiners produced much higher value of mechanical properties.