Carbide Reinforced Metal Matrix Composites Research Articles

Investigations on tribo-mechanical behaviour of Al-Si10-Mg/sugarcane bagasse ash/SiC hybrid composites

The effect of mechanical and tribological behaviour of aluminium alloy (Al-Si10-Mg) with sugarcane bagasse ash and silicon carbide reinforced metal matrix composites were investigated. Al-Si10-Mg alloy reinforced with 9wt.% of treated sugarcane bagasse ash particles of size (< 75 µm) and 0wt.%, 3wt.%, 6wt.% and 9wt.% of silicon carbide particles of size (< 25 µm) were fabricated using the stir casting method. Morphological analysis was done using scanning electron microscopy to access the distribution of reinforcement particles in the matrix alloy. Tensile, hardness, and impact strengths were increased with an increase in weight fraction of SiC reinforcement particles in the aluminium alloy, while the ductility was decreased. Pin-on-disc dry sliding wear test was carried out with 10, 20 and 30 N loads with a sliding speed of 10 m·s−1 for a constant time period of 20 min to predict the wear behaviour of the developed composites. Worn surfaces of the wear-tested specimens and fracture morphology structure of the tensile-tested specimens were analysed. Results show that the composites reinforced with sugarcane bagasse ash and silicon carbide particles exhibit superior wear resistance.

Wear and corrosion behaviour of titanium carbide reinforced metal matrix composites for automobile brake disc application

The wear and corrosion behaviour of aluminium silicon (Al-Si) alloy with titanium carbide (TiC) were investigated in this article. Initially automobile brake discs of a passenger car were fabricated by stir casting method with 10 wt. % of TiC in Al-Si alloy. A small part cut from the brake shoe used as a pin to slide against MMC and Grey cast iron in dry condition. It was found from the results that the wear resistance and coefficient of friction for TiC reinforced MMC is better than iron. Experimental values of wear agree very closely with simulation results. Potentiodynamic polarisation measurements exhibits that the corrosion resistance decreased with increasing TiC weight percentage. However, the hardness of the samples was increased. SEM analysis showed more no. of corrosion spots in samples with 10 wt. % of TiC. XRD analysis revealed that the presence of reinforcement in matrix affect the corrosion rate.

Wear and corrosion behaviour of titanium carbide reinforced metal matrix composites for automobile brake disc application

The wear and corrosion behaviour of aluminium silicon (Al-Si) alloy with titanium carbide (TiC) were investigated in this article. Initially automobile brake discs of a passenger car were fabricated by stir casting method with 10 wt. % of TiC in Al-Si alloy. A small part cut from the brake shoe used as a pin to slide against MMC and Grey cast iron in dry condition. It was found from the results that the wear resistance and coefficient of friction for TiC reinforced MMC is better than iron. Experimental values of wear agree very closely with simulation results. Potentiodynamic polarisation measurements exhibits that the corrosion resistance decreased with increasing TiC weight percentage. However, the hardness of the samples was increased. SEM analysis showed more no. of corrosion spots in samples with 10 wt. % of TiC. XRD analysis revealed that the presence of reinforcement in matrix affect the corrosion rate.

English

Metal matrix composites are used mostly in aerospace, space ships, automotive, nuclear, biotechnology, electronic and sporting goods industries. Due to their high cost, experiments are usually done to reduce the cost of the composites and in expensive materials are utilized for metal matrix composites. Aluminum alloys are alloys in which aluminum is predominant metal. During stir casting, 1 Kg of Al (6351) has been taken with 50gm by wt. % of Sic and 50gm by wt. % of B4C as Sample. Then the sample is made in the form of cylindrical rod of 10mm diameter and 30mm length. This study describes multi-factor based experiments that are applied to optimization on machinability of stircast aluminum alloy 6351 with Silicon Carbide and Boron Carbide reinforced metal matrix composites (MMC’S). The effects of parameters such as Cutting Speed, Feed Rate, and Depth of cut on the Power, Surface Roughness, and Material Removal Rate are analyzed using Grey relational analysis on a CNC turning machine. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is also performed to identify which design parameters significantly affect the machinability of the composite.

Evaluation of fatigue and impact behavior of titanium carbide reinforced metal matrix composites

The objective of this work is to evaluate the load bearing behavior of titanium carbide reinforced aluminum matrix composites and their suitability for automotive application. Three different weight percentages of TiC particulates: 10, 12 and 15, in the size of 325 meshes were prepared by stir casting process to study the effect of particulates for load bearing application. Tensile, fatigue and impact tests were conducted on the ASTM standard test samples to investigate the effect of titanium carbide in Al–Si matrix alloy. XRD analysis shows various intermetallic phases present in the composites cast at 750°C. Crack propagation and failure mechanism of the fabricated composites were examined using SEM. The steering knuckle used in automobile suspension system is a critical structural component subjected to both fatigue and impact load during its service and it is considered in this study. The steering knuckle made of Al/TiC, unreinforced alloy and spheroidal graphite (SG) iron was tested and compared for the performance in real time load conditions. The results show that performances of samples and component knuckle were remarkably increased in the presence of TiC reinforcement. Fractographs show that cyclic load starts the crack initiation from the matrix region and particle breaking mechanism occurs during impact load.

Experimental investigation and multi-objective analysis on drilling of boron carbide reinforced metal matrix composites using grey relational analysis

In this study, machining parameters were evaluated and optimized with grey relational analysis in drilling B4C reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) produced by powder metallurgy. HSS, TiAlN coated and uncoated cementide carbide drills were used under dry cutting conditions. The drilling parameters such as feed rate, spindle speed, drill material and wt.% of B4C particles were optimized based on multiple performance characteristics including thrust force, torque and surface roughness. The experimental study showed that increasing the weight fraction of the B4C resulted in a considerable increase in the thrust force. Furthermore, average surface roughness of drilled hole decreased with increasing particle content for carbide tools and increased for HSS tools. Among the tools used, TiAlN coated carbide drills showed the best performance with regard to the surface roughness. Moreover, ANOVA analysis indicated that the most effective factor on grey grade was found to be weight fraction and followed by drill material, feed rate and spindle speed, respectively.

Comparative characterisation of damping behaviour of aluminium alloy composites produced by different fabrication techniques

There is limited information currently available on the damping behaviour of silicon carbide reinforced metal matrix composites for aerospace structural applications. Dynamic mechanical analysis is one of the thermal analysis techniques which can be used to study the damping properties. In the present investigation, a dynamic mechanical thermal analyser is used to investigate the dynamic mechanical properties as a function of temperature for aluminium alloy 2124 + 5%SiC particle reinforced composites. The formation and dissolution of precipitate phases as a function of temperature have also been characterised by the technique of differential scanning calorimetry. It was observed that in all composites, the complex modulus, loss modulus, and damping capacity increased whereas the storage modulus decreased with increasing temperature.

On the precipitation of TiC in liquid iron by reactions between different phases

In order to study the in situ formation of carbide-reinforced metal matrix composites and the inoculation reactions of some low alloy steels, titanium carbide precipitation in liquid iron was investigated. TiC particles were formed directly in liquid iron solution through reactions between different phases. The high-temperature reactions studied in the present work are reactions between (a) solid graphite and liquid Fe-Ti alloys, (b) Fe-Ti and Fe-C liquid alloys, and (c) pure solid titanium and liquid Fe-C alloys. Small samples for these reactions have been processed using a mirror furnace facility in a precisely controlled manner. Samples of Fe-Ti alloys reacted with graphite were also processed by a high frequency induction furnace and other facilities. The precipitation behavior of titanium carbide in various reactions and the distribution of carbide particles in iron melts were investigated. Different growth morphologies of the carbide were observed under various conditions. The effects of convection on the reactions were observed and discussed, and by processing the samples with various orientations relative to gravity, various patterns of carbide distribution were obtained.

Microstructural characterization of SiC/Al and FP/Al metal matrix composites subjected to dynamic loadings

The Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar technique was used to study the dynamic response of silicon carbide particle- and whisker-reinforced aluminium (SiC/Al-P and SiC/Al-W) and continuous Fibre FP-reinforced aluminium (FP/Al), metal matrix composites, subjected to high strain rates in the range of 300–3200 s−1. The response of these composites was characterized by macroscopic and microscopic observations. Experiments on SiC/Al-W and FP/Al were conducted with the whiskers/fibres oriented in the axial, as well as, in the transverse direction with respect to the loading direction. It was observed that for the silicon carbide-reinforced metal matrix composites, the dynamic flow stress values were consistently higher than the static/quasi-static values. Experiments conducted on FP/Al with the fibres oriented transversely to the loading direction, revealed failure stress values considerably lower than the static/quasi-static values. This anomalous behaviour was attributed to the predominantly shear mode failure of the material. Microscopic observations using optical and scanning electron microscopy corroborate the macroscopically observed behaviour.

H2O catalysis of aluminum carbide formation in the aluminum-silicon carbide system

Aluminum carbide was found to form catalytically at aluminum-silicon carbide interfaces upon exposure to water vapor. Samples, composed of approximately 2 nm thick layers of Al on SiC, were fabricated and reacted in vacuo, and analyzed using XPS. Enhanced carbide formation was detected in samples exposed to 500 Langmuirs H2O and subsequently reacted for 600 s at 873 K. The cause of the catalysis phenomenon is hypothesized to be the weakening of silicon-carbon bonds caused by very strong bonding of oxygen atoms to the silicon carbide surface. Aluminum carbide formation is of interest because of its degrading effect on the mechanical properties of aluminum/silicone carbide reinforced metal matrix composites, as well as its effect on the electrical properties of aluminum metallizations on silicon carbide layers in microelectronic components.

Chemical Interactions in the Aluminum-Carbon and Aluminum-Silicon Carbide Systems

AbstractX-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was used to investigate the influence of O2 and H2O on the formation of aluminum carbide at aluminum-carbon and aluminumsilicon carbide interfaces. It was determined that dosing the interfaces with H2O catalyzed the formation of aluminum carbide in both the aluminum-carbon and aluminum-silicon carbide systems. This result is consistent with the oxidation model of carbide formation [1], previously developed to understand the kinetics of aluminum carbide formation at graphite-aluminum interfaces. These results imply that the formation of aluminum carbide in graphite and silicon carbide reinforced metal matrix composites, which severely degrades the composite mechanical properties by degrading the fiber and interface strength [2], is catalyzed.