Reinforced Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites Research Articles

Investigation of Influence of Variations of Ageing Conditions on Aluminium-Silicon: Pathway to Tailored Mechanical Properties

This study focuses on the investigation of the influence of the variations of ageing conditions on the mechanical properties of ferrosilicon-silicon carbide reinforced Aluminium metal matrix composites. The ageing temperature, reinforcement percentage volume fractions and ageing time of the composite were systematically varied during fabrication stages by keeping the Aluminium and Ferrosilicon compositions constant while varying the percentage volume fractions of Silicon Carbide (SiC). The samples produced were machined into hardness, impact and tensile tests specimens. Then the specimens were subjected to laboratory based accelerated solution heat treatment, quenching and artificial ageing. Array of comprehensive mechanical properties examination and characterization in line with the appropriate specifications of the American Society for Testing and Materials Standard manuals were conducted to determine the influence of ageing on the material’s strength, hardness, impact toughness and stress-strain characteristics. The study revealed significant enhancement in the mechanical properties of the material and the findings would provide valuable insight into the ageing behaviour of Aluminium-Silicon, thus, enabling the optimization of the material’s performance for use in diverse engineering applications.

Selected challenges in solidification processing of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) reinforced aluminum alloys composites

Solidification processing of aluminum graphene composite is an attractive option for synthesis of metal matrix composites. Graphene reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites (GAMMCs) are of interest due to the low density and ultrahigh physical and mechanical properties of Graphene which can improve the properties of Al-Graphene composites. However, solidification processing of aluminum graphene composites has served challenges, including agglomeration of reinforcement and porosity resulting in decrease in properties above 0.five to three wt% graphene. Also, the graphene surface can react with molten aluminum alloys to form aluminum carbide. Challenges with particle distribution and porosity are frequently caused by the poor wetting of reinforcement by melt, requiring additions of selected wetting agents. The other problems include movement of reinforcement within the melt due to density differences and convection leading to nonuniform distribution of reinforcements. The graphene reinforcements can be pushed by solidifying interfaces under certain conditions during solidification leading to segregation of reinforcements in the interdendritic regions. The paper critically analyzes the above problems related to solidification processing of Aluminum- Graphene composites which has not been done in previous publications aluminum-graphene composites. The objective of this paper is to examine the challenges, and suggest possible solutions including addition of elements like silicon and magnesium to aluminum melt, coating graphene with metals like nickel and copper, controlling rate of advancement and nature of advancing solid liquid interface in a manner that they engulf graphene with dendrites or grains.

Mechanical and Wear Properties of Graphite Reinforced Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites Processed by Ultrasonic-Stir-Squeeze Casting

Mechanical and Wear Properties of Graphite Reinforced Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites Processed by Ultrasonic-Stir-Squeeze Casting

Influence of nanoparticles in reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites in aerospace applications – A review

The aerospace industry has seen a steady rise in the need for materials with a high strength-to-weight ratio and economic concerns. Although lightweight materials like Aluminium (Al) and its alloys are appealing, but their application is constrained by some characteristics including low thermal stability and high wear rate. To overcome these limitations and improve the performance of aluminium, many researchers have developed various composites made of metal matrix and reinforced with nanoparticles. The basic material's mechanical strength and wear resistance can all be enhanced by the nanoparticles. This paper is a review on inference of various nanoparticles in aluminium composite and the behavioural changes in properties. Aluminium has been used as base composite and its reinforcement is studied by focusing on the stir-casting method for fabrication. The characteristics of Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) can be incorporated into the material and customised depending on the application, opening up countless opportunities for modern material research and development. Furthermore, the challenges of various nanomaterials reinforcement in Al MMCs also discussed.

Silica and kaolin reinforced aluminum matrix composite for heat storage

Abstract This study used aluminum scraps to produce a secondary aluminum metal matrix for heat storage analyses. Silica and kaolin reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites were successfully produced via stir casting. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed for phase and microstructure characterization. XRD revealed alumina (corundum), aluminum and kyanite phases while SEM indicated pores in the composites. Density, average specific heat (from 30 to 200°C), thermal conductivity, and hardness tests were carried out. Total heat energy stored per kg, from 30 to 200°C, was obtained. The inclusion of 7.5 and 15 wt% kaolin increased the specific heat of the matrix from 474.3 to 564.57 J·kg−1·°C−1 and 474.3 to 679.03 J·kg−1·°C−1, respectively. Likewise, adding 7.5 and 15 wt% silica sand increased the thermal conductivity of the matrix from 154.99 to 175.62 W·m−1·°C−1 and 154.99 W·m−1·°C−1 to 181.38 W·m−1·°C−1, respectively. The addition of 7.5 wt% silica sand and 7.5 and 15 wt% kaolin increased the hardness value of the matrix from 72.11 to 73.11 HB, 72.11 to 81.38 HB, and 72.11 to 82 HB, respectively. Hardness of the composites reinforced with kaolin is higher than that of the composites reinforced with silica sand. This is attributed to the higher molecular weight of kaolin. Significant increase in specific heat and thermal conductivity was achieved.

Corrosion behaviour of coconut rice and eggshell reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites in 0.4M H2SO4

ABSTRACT Corrosion is a significant aspect considered during the manufacturing process. As newly developed metal composites have proven to perform exceptionally well in terms of weight-to-strength ratio and mechanical properties improvement, there is also a need to ascertain that the materials can withstand corrosion. This study will focus on the corrosion behaviour of coconut rice and eggshell-reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites (AMMC) in 0.4 M H2SO4. The study also carried out a performance evaluation of TiO2 nanoparticles as an inhibitor to protect the advanced aluminium metal matrix composite in the acidic environment of H2SO4. This research employed X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to study the composition of the developed samples (samples C are Al 8112 alloy, D are 2.5%-coconut rice/2.5%-eggshell, and E are 5%-coconut rice/3%-eggshell). Weight loss analysis was also carried out to study the corrosion rate and the inhibitor efficiency. SEM and EDX were employed to study the surface morphology of the corroded samples in acidic environments. The results show that sample E, with a weight loss of 0.0703 and a corrosion rate of 0.2534 mm/hr at 120 hours, has the lowest weight loss and corrosion rate compared with samples D and C. The average inhibitor efficacy is 73.5%, which shows that TiO2-nanoparticles protected the AMMC from corrosion attack.

Investigate the optical and dry sliding wear behavior of solid lubricated sillimanite reinforced aluminum metal matrix composite

The aluminum metal matrix composite (AMC) is prepared by incorporating solid lubricants (Tin, Graphite and both) with 10 wt% sillimanite (Al2SiO5; 20–120 µm; sea beach mineral) as reinforcement. AMC was prepared by the using of liquid metallurgical vortex method (stir casting). Meanwhile, the effect of solid lubrication has also been studied with 3 wt% solid lubricants (Tin, Graphite and both). In the Al-matrix, Al2SiO5 particles were distributed homogenously, according to optical microscopy. As a result of reinforcement addition, primary silicon refinement has also been observed. The wear analysis revealed that sillimanite improved the wear resistance of the composite samples over the base alloy i.e., A390. In this study, the material losses of solid lubricants induced aluminium metal matrix composites are reduced. Further, the wear studies showed that dual solid lubricants had better wear resistance.

Fabrication and machinability studies on cupola slag reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites using Taguchi method

In this experimental work dry turning of fabricated low cost cupola slag reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites have been performed. The objective of this work is to analyze the successful fabrication and machinability of cast composites in terms cutting force. Fabrications have been done by following stir casing route and quality of cast composites have been analyzed by SEM and EDS. Experimental planning and optimization has been done using Taguchi method. Weight percentage of cupola slag reinforcement,feed rate and spindle speedhas been selected as process parameters. Confirmatory experiments have been conducted to validate the model and tool morphology of tool used in confirmatory experiment has been investigated for tool wear studies.

Properties & characterization of reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the properties of the composite materials which are widely used in industrial applications such as automobile, defense and aerospace sectors. Aluminium metal matrix composites are the preferred materials of many researchers due to its high strength, low density and resistance to corrosion. In this paper the effect of the addition of manganese, iron and graphite in pure aluminium is investigated and their mechanical properties such as porosity, density, wear, SEM & XRD are studied. By analyzing the experimentation results it is evident that hardness increases with the additional reinforcement at 3% composition and decreases further with the increase in percentage composition of the reinforcements at 4% and 5% compositions. The wear rate is high at 3% composition of the reinforcements and decreases with the increase in percentage composition of the graphite.

Machine learning assisted investigation on properties of TiO2 reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites

The aim of this study is to investigate deeply about the properties of AA7075 aluminum alloy with varying stirring speed, temperature and different weight percentage of Titanium oxide reinforced with aluminum alloy using machine learning. Machine learning give consistent result with quantitative research.Taguchi method was effectively employed to find the optimal values of the input variables for the maximized values of hardness, impact strength and tensile strength. Stirring speed of 600 rpm, temperature of 600 °C and 9 wt% of TiO2 was finally found as the optimal parameters from this investigation. The model is perfectly fit as R square value is 99.5 %. The maximum brinell hardness is attained for the set of parameter (i) temperature 660 °C (ii) stirring speed 600 rpm and (iii) percentage of reinforcement is 6 wt%.

Comparison of the mechanical properties of micro/nano SiC/TiO2 reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites

Aluminium composites strengthened with silicon carbide/titanium dioxide (SiC/TiO2) have been shown to have exceptional tensile characteristics and are widely employed in a range of areas. This research looks at composites made using aluminium 6061 as the matrix and micro/nano SiC/TiO2 as supplements. Stir casting was used to create composites amid varied processing parameters. The manufactured composite materials were then subjected toT6 heat treatment, and their tensile characteristics, including tensile, compressive, impact, and micro-hardness, were examined. Manufactured composites outperformed the parent element in terms of mechanical characteristics. Microscopic analysis revealed a uniform dispersion of reinforcements inside the matrix. To forecast the result parameters, a non-linear regression formulation was designed and tested using empirical data.

Investigation of Electrical Discharge Machining Properties of Reinforced Cryogenic Treated AA7075 Composites

The demand for materials arises to improve the effi ciency of the structural, aerospace and automotive components. It induces to identifi cation and production of composite materials. Amongst the varieties, Aluminium Metal Matrix Composite is widely used in automotive and aerospace industries because if inheriting wide range of acceptable mechanical and tribological properties besides being constructive by holding high strength to weight ratio. Herein, ED machining properties of cryogenic treated AA7075-B4C composites were analysed. B4C particles reinforced Aluminium metal matrix composites were prepared by using one of the liquid metrological method viz. stir casting. The samples were cryogenically treated at various soaking time periods (12, 24 & 36 hours). In ED Machining, material removal (MR) rate, tool wear (TW) rate and surface roughness (Ra) parameters were analysed depending upon the inputs viz. soaking time (SoT), electrode gap (Gap), current, Pon (pulse ON time), Poff (pulse OFF time). Experimentation remarks that current be one of the mostly infl uencing parameter towards ED machining than any other considerations in this part of research.

Investigation of ZrO2 reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites by liquid metallurgy route

ABSTRACT The high strength-to-weight ratio is the major cause in engineering components’ application for automobile, aerospace, marine industries, etc. The inclusion of ZrO2 reinforcements in AA6061 improves the hardness and tensile strength of the composites that could be used in automotive engine components such as piston, cylinder liners, etc. The present investigation focuses on the fabrication of AA6061 metal matrix reinforcement with various weight ratios of ZrO2 is (0, 3, 6, 9, and 12%) of particles by the stir casting process. Inorganic salt like potassium titanium fluoride (K2TiF6) flux is incorporated within the molten metal to enhance the wettability between AA6061 and ZrO2 during composite preparation. The microstructure and improved mechanical properties of fabricated composites were confirmed by optical microscope and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The as-prepared composite microstructure reveals the dispersion of ZrO2 particles within the matrix using FE-SEM. The average grain size was measured using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The mechanical properties are improved due to the increase in the weight percentage of ZrO2 reinforcements present in the aluminium matrix.

Surface morphology and defect characterization during high-power fiber laser cutting of SiC particles reinforced aluminum metal matrix composite

Due to the introduction of ceramic reinforcement, the physical properties and machinability of SiCp/Al composites are greatly different from the metallic ones. High-power continuous wave fiber laser makes it possible to process SiCp/Al composites with high efficiency. In this work, the feasibility of high-power fiber laser cutting of 5.0 mm thick SiCp/Al composites was studied using design of experiments (DOE). The effects of laser power (1000–4000 W), cutting speed (500–2000 mm/min) and assist gas (N2 and O2) on kerf geometry and defect characterization were investigated. Results showed that high laser power and low cutting speed generated relatively higher kerf width on the entry surface, and the kerf width exhibited a slightly higher level around ∼ 2.0% when O2 was applied in comparison to the results from N2 group. Different morphology was observed on machined surfaces including multi-directional striation, vertical striation and slant striation. The width of HAZ increased along the direction of laser beam, and reached the maximum value at egress with the value up to 1115 μm. The SEM and EDX spectra study showed that the effect of oxygen on the subsurface was limited, and there was no metallurgical reaction between the matrix and SiC particles during laser cutting process.

Experimental Study on Reinforced Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites with B<sub>4</sub>C through Different Techniques

Recently, aluminum alloys are extensively used in automobile and aeronautical industries due to its low density and excellent mechanical properties. The aim of this research work is to focus on develop an aluminum matrix composite reinforced with boron carbide particulates under different weight percentages by squeeze casting route. To obtain better results, it is essential to control the process variables involved in the process. The primary work focused to optimize the process variables involved in the fabrication of the composites using full factorial design. The experiments were carried out with various input parameters like squeeze pressure of 50, 100 and 150Mpa, melting temperature of 700, 750 and 800°C and weight fraction of reinforcement of 6, 8 and 10% using L27 orthogonal array. The significant parameters were identified by analysis of variance table and regression analysis was used to model the mathematical relationship for obtaining better mechanical properties. Final results reveal that, mechanical properties of 218VHN hardness and 412MPa tensile strength had been obtained based on the optimum combination levels. Also AA7075-B4C composites produced through this route with enhanced properties could be used as an alternative material for high strength structural applications like connecting rod, control arms, steering knuckle and other parts.

Surface Investigation of Physella Acuta Snail Shell Particle Reinforced Aluminium Matrix Composites

Aluminium-matrix composite is one of the most preferred engineering materials and is known for its potential benefits, such as lightweight nature, high specific stiffness, superior strength, machinability, etc. The metal–matrix composites are very attractive for critical applications: Aerospace field, defense deployments, automotive sector, marine industry. In the present work, novel Physella Acuta Snail Shell particle reinforced aluminium metal–matrix composites are developed to facilitate cost-effective and sustainable manufacturing. These green composites are developed by stir-casting with LM0 as matrix material and snail shell as reinforcement with a distinct percentage (by weight) of inclusion. The influence of snail shells is analyzed through tribological, morphological, and corrosion studies. Aluminium–matrix composite Al98SNS2 with 98% (by weight) aluminium matrix and 2% (by weight) snail shell reinforcement exhibits superior performance in all investigations. Al98SNS2 composite exhibits the least wear rate in the atmosphere of deionized water and 3.5% NaCl. Corrosion deteriorates the surface roughness irrespective of the percentage of incorporation of snail shell reinforcement. However, the deterioration is minimal in Al98SNS2. The current research findings indicate that the incorporation of snail shell in aluminum metal–matrix composites promotes cost-effective, sustainable, and eco-friendly manufacturing.

Hybrid-hybrid machining of SiC-reinforced aluminium metal matrix composite

A hybrid-hybrid (ultrasonic-assisted + laser-assisted) turning study of silicon carbide reinforced aluminium metal matrix composite is presented. The results show a significant reduction of average cutting force with an improved surface finish of machined components compared to conventional machining, implying that this new and novel paradigm is a viable machining process.

Towards the Enhanced Mechanical and Tribological Properties and Microstructural Characteristics of Boron Carbide Particles Reinforced Aluminium Composites: A Short Overview

This paper overviews the fabrication, microstructural characteristics, mechanical properties and tribological behaviour of B4C reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites (AMMCs). The stir casting procedure and parameters used to fabricate the Al-B4C composites are discussed. The influence of physical parameters such as applied load, sliding speed and sliding distance on tribological behaviour is analysed. The role of the mechanically mixed layer (MML) and wear mechanisms on the wear behaviour and friction coefficient are emphasised. The overview of tribological behaviour revealed that the Al-B4C composites possess excellent abrasion resistance and the ability to operate over a wide range of physical parameters. The Al-B4C composites exhibited better tribological behaviour when compared with the composites reinforced with conventional reinforcement particles (SiC).

Analysis of the friction and wear of graphene reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites using machine learning models

The effect of graphene on the material properties, friction, and wear of self-lubricating aluminum-based metal matrix composites (MMC) was compared with the effect of graphite as the reinforcement. Notable enhancement of mechanical properties and friction and wear performance was observed with graphene addition. Statistical analysis suggested that a much lesser amount of graphene reinforcement can produce friction and wear performance similar to that of aluminum MMCs with a higher amount of graphite. Five machine learning (ML) regression models were developed to predict the wear rate and coefficient of friction (COF) of aluminum-graphene MMCs. ML study suggested that the weight percent of graphene, loading conditions, and hardness had the largest influence on the wear and friction of aluminum-graphene composites.

An overview of the effect of stirrer design on the mechanical properties of Aluminium Alloy Matrix Composites fabricated by stir casting

An overview of the effect of stirrer design on the mechanical properties of Aluminium Alloy Matrix Composites fabricated by stir casting