Mechanical behaviour of stir cast TiO2/Redmud/Al6061 metal matrix composites

Abstract

The present work deals with mechanical characterization of titanium oxide (TiO _2 )/Redmud/Aluminium alloy 6061 (Al6061) hybrid metal matrix composites (HMMC’s) processed using stir casting method. The weight fractions of TiO _2 are varied (2%,4% and 6%) and amount of redmud is kept constant (2%) in Al6061. The optimised parameters for stir casting are employed for fabrication the samples of all the configurations and cut according to ASTM standards. The presence of the elements of the constituents is confirmed by XRD and EDS. Effect of TiO _2 and redmud content on Tensile, Compression and Hardness are studied in detail. The results reveal that the tensile, compressive and hardness of the prepared composites enhance with TiO _2 content. The yield and ultimate strength increase in the range of 29.77%–72.36% and 29.96%–63.90% respectively than the Al6061. The compressive strength enhanced in the range of 9.28%–33.20% than the Al6061. Enhancement of hardness in the range of 9.41%–41.17% is observed as compared to Al6061. The fractography studies confirm uniform mixing of the constituents and load transfer mechanism.

Keywords

• metal matrix composites
• Al6061
• redmud
• titanium dioxide
• mechanical properties