Experimental research and effect on mechanical and wear properties of aluminium based composites reinforced with Zn/Sic particles

Abstract

Abstract In this investigation, Al-/Zn/SiC composite with various weight percentages of SiC were manufactured via powder metallurgy (PM) route. Using the powder metallurgy approach, composites are created by changing the amount of SiC in the range of 5–15% by weight respectively. Under fretting wear test, the tribological characteristics of these composite materials were examined at load (5N, 10N, 15N), constant control parameters like that of frequency (20 Hz), temperature (at room temperature), stroke length (0.50 mm) and time (20 min). The test findings showed that compared to the unreinforced alloy the SiC-reinforced aluminium hybrid matrix composites (AHMC’s) showed a lower wear loss (i.e. 0.002 gm). It was found that friction coefficient of Al/5%Zn/10%Sic composites reduced with increasing applied load. Additionally, with an increase in the SiC content, the mechanical properties i.e. Tensile Strength and Hardness of fabricated composite increases compared to the base material. This study showed that the wear resistance of aluminium composites is greatly increased by the addition of both a synthetic reinforcement (i.e. Silicon Carbide) and a low melting point reinforcement (i.e. Zinc, 99%, −325 mesh). Overall, our findings show that AHMC’s might be regarded as a superior material in industries like aerospace and automotive engineering, where mechanical and wear properties play an important role.

Keywords

• Powder metallurgy
• Ball mill
• Zinc
• Aluminium
• Silicon carbide
• Aluminium-based metal matrix composites as AHMCs