Metal Matrix Composite Plates Research Articles

Vibration and acoustic characteristics of aluminium-silicon carbide metal matrix composite plate under thermal environment

This paper investigates the vibration and acoustic characteristics of an aluminium-silicon carbide (Al-SiC) simply supported composite plate under thermal loads. The vibrational response induced by the temperature rise is analysed using Kirchhoff’s plate theory and the weighted integral (Galerkin) method. Additionally, the plate is acoustically modelled in conjunction with the air medium to investigate its acoustic response. The acoustic far-field radiation equation determines the plate’s sound pressure level (SPL). The findings reveal that the MMC I (65% SiC/A356.2 MMC SiC particulates reinforced, with three different sizes) plate exhibits a lower overall sound pressure level in the lower frequency range than other MMCs. Moreover, replacing the aluminium plate with the MMC I plate reduces the overall sound pressure level by 5.54 dB due to the high stiffness associated with the mixture of silicon carbide reinforcement in the aluminium matrix.

Manufacturing and FSW of hybrid functionally graded metal matrix composite

Abstract This study focuses on the manufacturing of hybrid functionally graded metal matrix composite (HFGMMC) using Al7039 alloy matrix phase which is used as armor material in today’s world. In this context, manufacturing stages of matrix material were analyzed, and necessary parameters were determined for remanufacturing using casting method. With the determined parameters, the matrix material was reinforced by SiC, Al2O3, and B4C particles in different volume rates at an average size of 3–10 µm using stir casting method. Three metal matrix composite (MMC) plates which were manufactured using different reinforcement particles in different volume rates were joined as semi-solid with the effect of temperature and pressure in a specially designed mold. In order to complete the manufacturing process, hot forging, and heat treatment were applied to the manufactured composite plate in accordance with the parameters determined in the manufacturing of the matrix. The manufactured MMC and HFGMMC plates were compared in terms of their micro structure, micro hardness, tensile strength, and wear behavior. Finally, HFGMMC plates were joined together by friction stir welding (FSW) in order to analyze their micro structures and mechanical properties after welding.

Investigation of graphene nanoplatelets-deposited textured metal matrix composite plates for improved mechanical properties: a numerical approach

Investigation of graphene nanoplatelets-deposited textured metal matrix composite plates for improved mechanical properties: a numerical approach

Hardness and Impact Strength Characteristics of Al based Hybrid Composite FSW Joints

Aluminium and its alloys have an excellent mechanical property in that metal matrix composite has a promising role in the field of automobile and aviation. This work aims to investigate the hardness and impact strength of aluminium Al2024, Al6061 and Al7075 alloy reinforced with a weight fraction of fine greenish silicon carbide 7% and chopped E-glass fiber 3%. The metal matrix composite plates were welded by using the friction stir welding process at 550, 850 and 1150 rpm with a feed rate of 40, 80, 120 mm/min. Hardness specimens are prepared as per ASTM-E-92 and investigated the hardness of welded and unwelded (base metals and composite metal) in nugget zone, HAZ and TMAZ with the help of Vickers hardness test machine. Impact strength specimens are prepared as per ASTM-E-23. The results were compared with welded and unwelded aluminium specimens.

Investigation of metal-matrix composite based hybrid laminates under quasi-static penetration and Charpy impact loading

The primary objective of the research presented here is to investigate the mechanical properties of SiCp/AA6061 based, directly-bonded hybrid laminates (HLs). Hot-pressing technique is introduced to manufacture polymer/metal/polymer HLs. Two types of thermoplastic composites (TPCs) are stacked with the metal-matrix composite (MMC). Long glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (PP) composite sheets (20 wt% and 40 wt%) are placed in the front of and rear of the MMC plates. In this way, the effect of PP composites with different fiber amounts on perforation and Charpy impact behavior is evaluated. Failure mechanisms of the HLs are also scrutinized. The experimental results show that the HLs result in improved mechanical properties. Enhancement of the maximum penetration force is more pronounced in the HLs struck from the TPC-40. The absorbed energy in the quasi-static perforation tests is found to be up to 12.24 and 23.59 times higher compared to monolithic TPC-20 and TPC-40, respectively. The images of the damaged HLs demonstrate the plugging shear out and fiber pullout at the strike and rear faces, respectively. The MMC-based HLs also lead to the increase in the impact resistance. By replacing the blow surface from TPC-20 to TPC-40, the flatwise Charpy impact strength significantly improves from 122 kJ/m 2 to 137.11 kJ/m 2 . The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigations after the impact experiments support that the fiber fracture is the dominant mechanism for failure mode of the faces under impact. Besides, signs of ductile fracture are seen for the MMC layer.

Surface characteristics modification of lm25 aluminum alloy – 5% sic particulate metal matrix composites by friction stir processing

Stir casting is employed for successful casting of aluminum-based metal matrix composite (MMC) plates of 12 mm thickness. Surface imperfections, porosity and reinforcement agglomeration are the main concerns in stir casting processes. Solid state friction stir processing (FSP) enhances mechanical characteristics by grain refinement and uniform distribution of reinforcement of MMC. Some of the crucial specifications of FSP include the tool traverse speed, tool rotational speed, tool shoulder diameter (D/d) ratio, pin design, pin length and axial force. In this investigation, five varying tool traverse speeds ranging between 20 mm and 60 mm per min were experimented on the stir cast plates. The wear rate, microstructure and microhardness evaluation on FSP plates revealed that wear resistance of 40 mm/min tool traverse speed FSP plate is superior and attribute to significant microhardness values. In addition, fine grains, uniform distribution and SiC particle bonding with aluminum matrix contribute to effective resistance to wear.

Examination of thermal postbuckling behavior of temperature dependent FG-GRMMC laminated plates with in-plane negative Poisson’s ratio

Auxetic composite laminates are a new type of engineering materials that have unique features for important potential applications. This paper examines the effect of in-plane negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) on the thermal postbuckling behaviors of graphene-reinforced metal matrix composite (GRMMC) plates. The plates rest on an elastic foundation and are subjected to a uniform temperature rise. The GRMMC layers with different volume fractions of graphene reinforcement can be arranged to achieve piece-wise functionally graded (FG) patterns across the plate thickness and the material properties of the GRMMC layers are temperature-dependent. The Reddy’s third order shear deformation plate theory and the geometric nonlinearity of von Kármán-type are applied to formulate the thermal postbuckling equations for GRMMC laminated plates. The nonlinear problem can be solved by a two-step perturbation approach. Parametric study is performed for (±10)5T and (±10)3T GRMMC laminated plates possessing in-plane NPR. The results reveal that the buckling temperatures for (±10)5T and (±10)3T plates are significantly enhanced with an FG-X pattern for the plates. We found that due to the combined effect of FG and in-plane NPR, the thermal postbuckling strength of FG-X (±10)3T plate is higher than that of FG-X (±10)5T plate.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir Welded AA6061/AA6061 + 40 vol% SiC Plates

The feasibility of butt friction stir welding (FSW) of a metal matrix composite (MMC) with a very high SiC particle content to a monolithic aluminum alloy is tested in this work. It is demonstrated for the first time that sound FSW joints can be obtained between an AA6061 aluminum plate and a thick MMC plate consisting of AA6061 reinforced with 40 vol% SiC particles. The joints withstand tensile testing, with ductile failure taking place in a soft region of the heat-affected zone on the alloy side. Metallographic examination of the MMC side after FSW reveals curved bands, where both the frequency of SiC particles and hardness are significantly lower than those in any other region on the MMC side. It is suggested that these bands are produced by transporting the alloy material to the MMC side, where the alloy is mechanically mixed with the MMC.

Free Vibration Analysis of A357 Alloy Reinforced with Dual Particle Size Silicon Carbide Metal Matrix Composite Plates Using Finite Element Method

In this work, the free vibration behaviour of A357 composite plate reinforced with dual particle size (DPS) (3 wt. coarse + 3 wt. fine, 4 wt. coarse + 2 wt. fine, and 2 wt. coarse + 4 wt. fine) SiC is evaluated using the finite element method. To this end, first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) has been used. The equations of motion have been derived using Hamilton's principle and the solution has been obtained through condensation technique. A thorough parametric study was conducted to understand the effect of reinforcement size and weight fraction, boundary conditions, aspect ratio and length-to-width ratio of plate geometry on natural frequencies of A357/DPS-SiC composite plates. Results reveal significant influence of all the above variables on natural frequency of the composite plates. In all the cases, A357 composite plate reinforced with 4 wt. coarse and 2 wt. fine SiC particles displayed the highest natural frequency owing to its higher elastic and rigidity modulus. Further, the natural frequencies increase with decrease in aspect ratio of the plate geometry. Natural frequency also decreases with increase in the number of free edges. Lastly, increasing the length-to-width ratio drastically improves the natural frequency of the plates. © 2021 Polish Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Effect of post-weld heat treatment on double-sided friction stir welded joint of 120 mm ultra-thick SiCp/Al composite plates

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a very promising and efficient technique in joining aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) without clear drawbacks, and post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) is a viable option to improve the mechanical properties of friction stir welded joint for heat treatable AMCs. In this work, 120 mm ultra-thick plates of 16 vol% SiCp/2014Al composites were successfully joined by double-sided FSW and subsequently friction stir welded joints were subjected to four different PWHTs (T6–25, T6–70, T4–25 and T4–70, denoting T6 or T4 heat treatment and being quenched in water at 25 °C or 70 °C after solution during heat treatment), respectively. The effect of PWHT on the distributions of microstructures and mechanical properties along the thickness direction in the nugget zone (NZ) of friction stir welded joint is investigated. For as-FSW joint, the tensile strength first decreases gradually along the thickness direction in the shoulder-affected and pin-affected regions, and then increases in the overlapping region. For T6–25 joint, the tensile strength does not vary a great deal in the shoulder-affected and pin-affected regions, and then increases slightly in the overlapping region. After T6–25 PWHT, the finer precipitates θ' are detected, aluminum grains grow up, and the tensile strength is obviously improved both in the NZ and base material attributing to the precipitation strengthening effect from finer precipitates θ'. The distributions of microstructures and mechanical properties along the thickness direction in the NZ are changed from heterogeneous distribution for as-FSW joint to nearly homogeneous distribution for T6–25 joint except in the overlapping region. After different PWHTs, the T6–25 joint shows the highest Vickers hardness in the NZ, followed by T6–70, T4–25 and T4–70 joints, and the as-FSW joint shows the lowest Vickers hardness. A comprehensive understanding can be provided for the effect of PWHT on the double-sided friction stir welded joint of thick or ultra-thick metal matrix composite plates.

WITHDRAWN: Numeric projectile impact simulation on a server utilizing LS-DYNA

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System Identification Based Controller Design for Friction Stir Welding Process During Joining of Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) process was initially implemented by modifying the milling machines. With the advancements in robotics and automation, movement along three primary axes are made controllable using computer integration. FSW being a temperature-dependent process, the temperature at the weld zone affects the weld quality since the microstructure is totally altered by the temperature variations. If welding is done at constant process parameters by ignoring the process disturbances, it would also result in undesirable material properties. From research studies, it is understood that tool pin position and spindle speed are significant process parameters contributing to heat generation during the joining process. In this study, an attempt is made to control the spindle speed of the rotating tool by measuring tool-workpiece interface temperature and vibrational disturbances during joining of Aluminium Metal Matrix Composite (Al-MMC) plates. The system model is estimated from the experimental data using the concept of system identification. Followed by, a Smith Predictor control scheme is developed and validated in a closed loop FSW system to examine the tensile strength.

Effect of overlapping region on double-sided friction stir welded joint of 120 mm ultra-thick SiCp/Al composite plates

Effective joining techniques are urgent and necessary for the rapid developments and widespread applications of aluminum matrix composite (AMC) components. Friction stir welding (FSW) is a very promising method for joining AMCs without clear defects, while double-sided FSW is especially preferred in joining thick or ultra-thick AMC plates. The overlapping region stirred twice by the two welding passes is formed during the double-sided FSW, which has an important effect on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the composite joint. In this work, 120 mm ultra-thick plates of 16 vol % SiCp/2014Al composites were successfully joined by the double-sided FSW, and an overlapping region appearing at the middle thickness of the composite joint is mainly concerned and studied. Compared with the base material and the region stirred once in the SiCp/Al composite joint, the decrease of SiC particle size, improved uniformity of particle distribution and refinement of aluminum grains and precipitates are observed in the overlapping region as a result of repetitive mechanical stirring during the double-sided FSW. The overlapping region exhibits the largest Vickers hardness and overall tensile properties: yield strength of 224 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 369 MPa and failure elongation of 6.6%. The simultaneous enhancement in tensile strength and ductility in the overlapping region is attributed to the more effective load-transfer of reinforced particles with decreasing particle size, and the increased grain boundary strengthening due to matrix grain refinement. A comprehensive understanding the effect of overlapping region on the microstructural characterization and mechanical properties of the composite joint is positive and important to promote and accelerate the industrial applications of double-sided FSW technology in joining thick or ultra-thick metal matrix composite plates.

Effect of tool pin profile on corrosion behavior of friction stir processed LM25AA 10% SiCp metal matrix composites

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a novel technique for microstructure refinement and for the enhancement of surface characteristics of stir casted LM25AA −10% SiCp Metal matrix composite (MMCs) plates. In FSP, a non-consumable tool made-up of harder material plays a critical part in altering the substrate material’s surface. In this present work, the influence of various tool pin profiles (Cylindrical straight, taper threaded, threaded cylindrical, square and plain tapered) on the corrosion behavior of friction stir processed (FSPed) LM25AA – 10% SiCp MMCs has been evaluated. The size and dispersion of silicon carbide particles in FSPed MMC were studied and the microstructure, micro hardness, corrosion rate, and the optimum tool pin design to attain desired particle distribution in FSPed MMCs was established. It was found that the decrease of the grain size of the SiC particulates and matrix leads to enhancement of hardness and reduction in corrosion rate.

Characteristic Investigation on Impact Strength of Aluminium Based Hybrid Composite Plates Weld by FSW

Aluminium Alloy 2024 metal-matrix composites fortified with Silicon carbide fine greenish particulates show enhanced mechanical properties like high toughness , high flexible modulus, and good resist wear, which makes them promising auxiliary materials for automobile field and aviation enterprises. Notwithstanding, these composites likewise demonstrate poor in malleability and ductility because of reinforce of non-deformable ceramic particulates, which restrains their wide applications to a specific degree, stifle this by strengthen arbitrary spasmodic E-glass fibers and exceeds expectations structure with higher sturdiness. The Current work is meant to examine the process parameters of friction stir welding on Aluminium metal matrix composite plates of measurement 100mmx50mmx6 mm joined by the high carbon high chromium tool, rotational speed of 600rpm, 900rpm and 1200 rpm also compiled welding speed rate of 40 mm/min, 80mm/min and 120 mm/min, Followed via completed Charpy Impact test on ASTM standard samples, classify the effect quality and contrasted and that of unreinforced matrix.

Microstructural analysis of B4C and SiC reinforced Al alloy metal matrix composite joints

This paper presents the investigations on joining 10-mm Al metal matrix composite plates with particles of SiC and B4C as reinforcement using friction stir welding (FSW) process. This study majorly focuses on the metallurgical characterizations to explore the microstructural behavior of the welded specimen subjected to constant load of 10 KN, rotational speed of 1000 rpm, and traveling speed of 75 mm/min of the FSW tool. Further, tensile and hardness properties of the welded specimens are investigated and related to the microstructural variations. The results reveal vital information on the distribution pattern of the elements in the Al metal matrix composite (MMC) in the weld region leading to variation in the mechanical strength. The feasibility of joining Al MMC with FSW is also established through this study.

Three dimensional stress analysis of adhesively bonded and multi pinned metal matrix composite plates

Abstract In this study, stress analyses have been performed for adhesively bonded and multi pinned metal matrix composite plates. The joint can be defined as hybrid structure providing various aims such as increasing loading capacity, corrosion resistance between plates etc. The finite element method was used for determination of three dimensional stresses acting on the hybrid joint. It is designed of metal matrix composite plates with epoxy adhesive and four pins. Both, the modeling and solution processes have been carried out using the ANSYS software which is well-known as a reliable finite element program. Stresses have been assumed as a consequence of tensile loadings at 80, 120, 160, 200, 240 N and uniform temperatures at 55, 65, 75, 85, 95 °C. According to the obtained analysis results, thermal stresses were especially concentrated around the pin holes. Hence, it has to be anticipated that any failure of the hybrid joint may start from pin hole zone firstly. Furthermore, the magnitudes of stresses were increased by increasing both, the tensile loading and the uniform temperature.

Studies the Influence of Pulsed Current and Activated Flux with TIG Welding on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Stircasted Al-SiC Composite

In the present study, an attempt has been made to study the effect of weld parameters on as-cast Al-SiC metal matrix composite plates using a newly developed active flux composition. Stir cast Al - 8% SiC plates were welded using different variants of TIG welding such as Constant Current TIG (CCTIG) welding, Pulsed Current TIG (PCTIG) welding, activated TIG (ATIG) welding and Pulsed Current Activated TIG (PCATIG) welding. Microstructure, macro structure, thermal profile, micro hardness and tensile properties were evaluated for different variants of TIG welding conditions and compared with each other. The combined effect of the active flux composition and pulsed current in PCATIG welding was compared with other variants such as TIG welding technique such as CCTIG welding, ATIG welding and PCTIG welding. Thermal profile revealed the increase in the peak temperature and the cooling rates for the PC-A-TIG weldments. Due to increased cooling rate, fine grain microstructure was observed in weld zone and heat affected zone. Fine grain microstructure of the PCATIG weldment is responsible for improved mechanical properties such as micro hardness, ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and elongation (%) compared to other welding variants. Maximum micro hardness value was found in weld zone in all the variants of TIG welding. PCATIG welding showed maximum weld zone hardness as 75HV, heat affected zone hardness values of the all TIG welding variants have more or less same value after 4mm away from weld centre. Due to active flux coating on PCATIG welding lead to increase in weld depth as 4.5mm. This increase in the weld depth directly increase the depth-towidth ratio (D/W = 0.82). Tensile strength of PCATIG welded sample showed (Ultimate Tensile Strength = 153MPa; Yield Strength = 137 MPa; elongation (%) = 16%). It confirms that the Al-SiC composite welded using PCATIG welding were improved mechanical behaviour than other TIG welding variants such as CCTIG welding, ATIG welding and PCTIG welding.

Temperature Dependent Mechanical Behavior of a Locally Restrained Graphite-Aluminum Laminated Plate under Bi-axial Loading

Temperature-dependent mechanical behavior of a locally restrained metal-matrix composite plate is investigated under uniform bi-axial compression. Thin rectangular plates of angle-ply and cross-ply laminate composed of Graphite-Aluminum composite are considered for the analysis. The plates are assumed to be locally restrained at their corner regions. Temperature-dependent me- chanical properties of the metal-matrix composite are used in the displacement-potential analysis of the elastic response. Results of deformed shapes as well as stress distributions are demonstrated as a function of temperature and fiber-orientation of the laminate.

Elasto-plastic Stress Analysis of Steel Fibre Reinforced Aluminum Metal Matrix Composite Plates

A numerical method for obtaining displacements and stresses in composite plates is presented. Mechanical behavior of steel fibre reinforced aluminum metal matrix composite plate is determined with elasto-plasticity. Experimental methods are used for obtaining mechanical properties of composite structure and finite element method is used for stress analysis. Stress distributions for different orientation angles are calculated using finite element analysis. Manufacturing techniques are compared. Minimal stress and yielding regions are specified.