RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE METAL MATRIX COMPOSITE WITH CERAMIC FIBERS

D.Kesavaram1 S.Suresh2,

1. Post Graduate Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Anna University of Technology, Tirunelveli- 627007. Tamilnadu, India. Mobile: 9443065613. Email: kesavaram_d@yahoo.co.in 2. Assistant Professor , Department of Mechanical Engineering, Anna University of Technology, Tirunelveli- 627007. Tamilnadu, India. Mobile: 9443494576. Email: ssuresh2009@gmail.com
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Departments, Anna University of Technology Tirunelveli

Abstract: A review of the recent development of composite materials from 2000 is presented in this paper. The literature review is devoted to the recently developed AAMMC with TiB2.The recent techniques used for manufacturing the AAMMC/TiB2 And the effect of the fibre TiB2 in the mechanical properties and thermal cycling effect of the composite materials are discussed. Key words: Al 6061 alloy, Al-TiB2 Metal matrix Composite (MMC), Aluminum Matrix Composite (AMC) 1.INTRODUCTION Aluminium alloy metal matrix is mostly used in commercial applications in the transportation, construction and similar engineering industries. It is having excellent mechanical properties in addition to very good corrosion resistance due to which the alloy finds extensive application in naval manufacturing. Aluminum that have been combined with a high percentage of other elements such as TiB2 are called a master alloy Master alloys can be designed for a specific application by adjusting the composition of the liquid metal. The AAMMC Al/ TiB2 can be prepared in different methods like stir casting, insitu process spray deposition reactive hot pressing etc. Among the various reinforcing particles, TiB2 is particularly attractive because it exhibits high elastic modulus and hardness as well as good thermal conductivity. Compared to Al-SiC, the Al-TiB2 MMC has better high temperature properties . So in our study we mainly focuses on Al-TiB2 composites and some other AAMMCs. In our review the recent development after 2003 based on the various methods of fabrication and improvements in mechanical properties wear behavior and thermal properties is presented in this paper. We mainly dealt with how the ceramic fibers like TiB2, TiO2 make difference in the mechanical properties, thermal properties and wear properties,

also how the TiB2 differs from other fibers, and in what ways the aluminum metal matrix composites were manufactured.

2. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS 2.1 In situ process Ahmad Changizi et all [1] followed the in situ method, The raw powders of TiO2, H3BO3, and Na3AlF6 were fully blended and then dried at 300 C for one hour in Order to completely remove humidity. Then, the TiO2, H3BO3, and Na3AlF6 powder mixture was added to a graphite crucible containing the aluminum ingot. Since powders are not electrically conductive, the graphite crucible was used to melt them in the induction furnace. When the system was heated to 1000 C in the induction furnace, aluminum melted first, and then the powders turned mushy. Then, these semisolid powders melted and formed a slag, which lay on top of the molten aluminum. Next, aluminum entered into an exothermic reaction with the slag and tiny sparks were seen. During this reaction, the furnace was turned off to prevent excessive heating of the system. Continuous stirring provided better contact between the reactants. This procedure was continued until no sparks were observed, as this indicated that the reaction was complete. Through this reaction between the slag and the metal, TiB2 was formed, And it precipitated in the liquid aluminum. Aluminum oxide, formed by the reaction, dissolved in the cryolite, so that the system at the end of the reaction consisted of a slag of cryolite and aluminum oxide and slurry of aluminum and titanium diboride Under the slag. When the reactions were completed, the slag was removed from the crucible and the produced AlTiB2 alloy was poured into molds. In this study, the production of AlTiB2 master alloys was investigated. A master alloy was produced with slagmetal reactions using Al, boric acid, TiO2 and cryolite, which are not expensive materials. Because of the exothermic reaction in this method of production, energy savings were considerable. Using raw materials and reducing used energy make this method environmentally friendly. To summarize: 1. TiB2 particles were formed in situ within the aluminum matrix through the reaction of TiO2 andH3BO3 in the Na3AlF6 by molten Al. 2. TiB2 particles formed by the slagmetal reaction were spherical in shape and approximately 1_m in size 3.TiB2 particles could be successfully precipitated in the aluminum, creating a more homogenous distribution compared with other processing techniques such as solid state reactive sintering. 2.1.1 Chemical reaction taken place

Formation of particles Boric acid was used to provide a source of B2O3 particles for the thorough calcinations of the acid according to the reaction 2H3BO3 = 3H2O + B2O3 The overall reaction for the formation of TiB2 is given by: TiO2 + B2O3 + 103 Al = TiB2 + 53 Al2O3 The thermodynamics data of these reactions are presented. It can be seen that TiB2 cannot be directly formed by the reaction between B2O3 and TiO2 because Gibbs free energy of TiB2 is much higher than that of both TiO2 and B2O3. However, Gibbs free energy of Al2O3 is much lower than of both TiO2 and B2O3, so the oxygen atoms may be reduced and the displacement of oxygen atoms from TiO2 and B2O3 allows Ti and B atoms to be freed by the formation of Al2O3 as follows 3TiO2 +B2O3 +6Al = 3Al2O3 +3Ti + 2B The free Ti and B atoms can react to form TiB2 as follows: Ti + 2B = TiB2 The TiB2 participles nucleated in this reaction entered the molten aluminum to form the AlTiB2 master alloy, while the Al2O3 dissolved in the cryolite in accordance with the overall reaction 2Al2O3 +2Na3AlF6 = 4AlF3 +Na2Al2O4 +2Na2O 2.1.2 Production of In-Situ AA6061- 3%TiB2 Metal Matrix Composite A.Mahamani [5] used different salts for the in situ process. Measured quantity of AA6061 alloy was kept in the graphite coated crucible and melted in the electrical furnace. KBF4 and K2TiF6 powders with suitable quantities are preheated at 300 C about few minutes. Temperature of the aluminium alloy was brought up to 850 C. Then the preheated salts are mixed into the molten alloy melt. A graphite rod was used to stir the melt. The stirring of molten alloy was continued up to 20 minutes. Aluminium alloy reacts with the salts by exothermic reaction and the temperature of the melt reached up to 1250 C. Exothermic reaction occurs in two steps. At first K2TiF6 and KBF4 react with the molten aluminium alloy independently and forms the intermediate compounds Al3Ti and AlB2. The Al3Ti and AlB2 reacts together to form TiB2 and Cryolite slag. Cryolite slag formed during the reaction floats on the melt. The proposed composite was synthesised by the chemically formed TiB2 and mixed with molten aluminium alloy in the crucible. The Cryolite slag were skimmed thoroughly before pouring the molten composite. Molten composite was poured in a graphite-coated cast iron die with suitable shape. The compound KAlF4 and K3AlF6 shown in chemical equation are called as a Cryolite slag phases.

AA6061-TiB2 in-situ metal matrix composite was successfully produced by flux-assisted synthesis method. EDX and quantitative elemental analysis of the composite confirms the presence of the TiB2 particle and its volume fraction. Boron from AlB2 diffused into Al3Ti, and facilitated TiB2 reinforcement formation. T.V. Christy et al [2] also followed the same process for preparing the AlTiB2 composites. 2.1.3 Chemical reaction taken place 3K2TiF6 + 13Al 3Al3Ti +3KAlF4+ K3AlF6 2KBF4 + 3Al AlB2+ 2KAlF4 Al3Ti + AlB2 TiB2+ 4Al 2.2 Reactive hot pressing S.C. Tjong and G.S. Wanga,[11] used the reactive hot pressing method to form the Aluminium based composites with the reinforcement of TiB2 And Al2 O3 fibres. Aluminum powder (98.6% purity; average size, 29 m), TiO2 powder (98% purity; average size, 3 m), boron powder (97% purity; <10 m) and B2O3 powder (99% purity; average size, 90 m) were used as starting materials. Composites TiB2/Al2O3 and TiB2/Al2O3/Al3Ti were prepared from the TiO2AlB system by adjusting the molecular ratios of B/TiO2 to 6/3 and 5/3, respectively. In the process, the powders were ball milled in alcohol for 8 h and then dried. The cold compacted powder mixture was heated to above 800 C in a vacuum and maintained for 10 min, then cooled down to 600 C and hot pressed. The pressed billets were extruded at an extrusion rate of 20:1 at 420 C. The formations of in situ phases were confirmed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. 2.3 Powder metallurgy In the S.C. Tjong and K.F. Tams study, [9] commercial pure aluminum powder (99.0% purity) with sizes of 25, 50 and 125 m, and TiB2powder (99.0% purity) of 45 m supplied by Good fellow Cambridge Ltd were used as raw materials. The Al TiB2 composites containing 5, 10, 15 and 20 vol.% reinforcing particles were prepared. In the process, Al and TiB2 powders were blended continuously in a rotating container for 10 h followed by cold compaction. The green compacts were then subjected to hot isostatic pressing, using the ABB HIP equipment. The temperature of HIP facility was initially maintained at 600 C for 2 h under vacuum condition (140 Pa). The temperature was then raised

to 640 C for 2 h during which argon gas was introduced to maintain a Pressure of 100 MPa. The purity of aluminum ingot, TiO2 and B2O3 powder is 98.0, 99.0 and 99.0%, respectively, and the average particle size of TiO2 and B2O3 powder is 5 and 50m, respectively. To make a comparison, five groups of composites with V% (0, 10.8, 16.0, 26.2, and 31.0) reinforcement were prepared, respectively, By the same experiment measure. 1. TiO2 powder was uniformly blended with B2O3 powder in the planetary mill machine for 10min and then preheated 2. The aluminum cast was molten in the intermediate frequency induction furnace at 650 C, and kept on heating to above 950 C. The powder mixture made in step 1 was blended with molten aluminum at mass ratio shown in Table 1 in the furnace for 15 min stirring to avoiding particles cluster. The adoption of such raw material mass ratio can attain a nominal amount of 20 vol % reinforcement, and the actual volume content of each reinforced Subsequently, the molten metallic mixture was sprayed and deposited on the rotary substrate to form billet (gas-to-metal ratio is 4.45), and the spray and deposition process are shown 3. The composites were hot-press treated to eliminate porosity. The composites were extruded in cylindrical graphite dies under an applied pressure of 30MPa at 300 C for 2 h, and cooled down to room temperature later, the heating and cooling rate both at 10 Cmin1. 2.4 Spray deposition Chen Xing et al [8] did the experiment in the spray deposition method. Aluminum matrix composite reinforced with TiB2/Al2O3 ceramic particles was successfully in situ synthesized in AlTiO2B2O3 system in this paper, using spray deposition with hotpress treatment technique. Five groups of composites with different reinforcement volume contents were prepared TiO2 powder was uniformly blended with B2O3 powder in the planetary mill machine for 10min and then preheated TiB2 Al2O3 Al3Ti Composite to 350 C (the milling process was under gas atmosphere protection). The aluminum cast was molten in the intermediate frequency induction furnace at 650 C, and kept on heating to above 950 C. The powder mixture made in step 1 was blended with molten aluminum at mass ratio shown in Table 1 in the furnace for 15 min stirring to avoiding particles cluster. The adoption of such raw material mass ratio can attain a nominal amount of 20 vol% reinforcement, and the actual volume content of each reinforced. Subsequently, the molten metallic mixture

was sprayed and deposited on the rotary substrate to form billet (gas-to-metal ratio is 4.45), and the spray and deposition process are showed in Fig. 1.

in the castings. Uniform distribution of TiO2 particles is observed. Good bond between the matrix and the particle is evident from the SEM micrograph. The variation of hardness of composites with increased contents of TiO2, Increased contents of TiO2 enhances the hardness of composites Furthermore, with increased content of TiO2, the probability of thermal reaction between molten aluminium alloy and TiO2 during the processing stage may be more. These results in the formation of AlTi inter-metallic precipitate and alumina, which contributes significantly to the enhancement of hardness of composites. In the study, Development of Al 6063TiB2 in situ composites C.S. Ramesh et al [6] evident that In situ TiB2 reinforced Al 6063 composite have been successfully fabricated via chemical reaction between Al10%Ti and Al3%B master alloys in Al 6063 matrix alloy using liquid metallurgy route XRD pattern, SEM micrograph and micro photographs clearly indicate the presence of TiB2 particles with a favourable good bond between the matrix and the reinforcement. The composites designed were found to produce a maximum micro hardness value (VHN) of 59.25, ultimate tensile strength of 140.9 MPa, modulus of 86.55 GPa and maximum ductility value of 24.55, which are very much higher than that of the matrix alloy. 3.1.2 Wear behaviour S. Natarajan et al [7] Concluded in the study of Sliding wear behaviour of Al 6063/TiB2 in situ composites at elevated temperatures, that the dry sliding test at room temperature shows that there is a definite increase in the wear resistance of Al 6063 alloy by the addition of TiB2 particles. The wear rate per unit amount of the reinforcement is an important Criterion, which can explain the load carrying capacity of The in situ composite also increases with the increase in the Amount of TiB2. The specific wear rate i.e., wear rate per unit load applied is an important factor also decreased with the increase in amount of TiB2. The friction coefficient also decreased with increasing TiB2 content, which indicates the Decrease in wear rate and hence the improvement in the wear resistance of the composite. The dry sliding wear test at higher temperature showed that the wear resistance of TiB2 reinforced composite was higher than those for the unreinforced matrix alloy at all test temperatures. This is due to the presence of TiB2 particulates. Due to the higher wear resistance of the TiB2 particulates, the wear resistance of The composite material is higher than that of the unreinforced Al 6063 alloys. The wear

3. MECHANICAL PROPERTIES T.V. Christy et al [2] discussed in their study that The composite exhibited a higher hardness than the aluminium alloy. Also, it is found from the table that the composite has a higher tensile strength than 6061aluminium alloy with reduced ductility. The significant improvement in the mechanical properties of the composite when compared with the aluminium alloy can be attributed to the distribution of TiB2 particles in the matrix. The manufactured Al-TiB2 composite exhibited higher values of hardness, tensile strength and Youngs modulus than the base alloy. The ductility of the composite was found to be slightly lower than that of the aluminium 6061 alloy. 3.1.1 Hardness and tensile properties Materi al Hardnes s BHN Al6061 AlTiB2 62.8 88.6 Tensile strength Mpa 134.8 173.6 Youngs Modulus Gpa 79.8 94.2 % Elong ation 8.0 7.0

C.S. Ramesh et al [3] evident The microphotographs of both the matrix alloy of Al6061 and its composites Micrographs clearly reveal minimal micro porosities

mechanism of Al 6063/TiB2 composites at temperatures less than 100 0C is primary abrasive wear, the greater wear resistance of composites with higher TiB2 content under these circumstances corresponds to their higher value of hardness and fracture toughness. The mechanism of oxidative wear dominates above 200 0C when sliding in air atmosphere. In general mild abrasive wear progressing with void nucleation is predominant at RT, 100 0 C, and severe adhesive wear progressing with crack propagation is predominant at temperatures. In this study to study the dry sliding wear behaviour of the composite, a pin on disc wear testing machine used . The size of pin was 10 mm in diameter and 25 mm in length of the alloy or composite was used as the test material. The counterpart disc with 70 mm in outside diameter and 10 mm in thickness was fabricated using hardened chromium steel. The test pins were loaded against the disc with a dead weight. The pin and the disc were washed with acetone to ensure that the tests were carried out under nominally dry sliding condition. A digital balance (Model: Sartorius CP423S) with a precision of 1 mg was used to measure the weight of the pin before and after each test. The wear rate was calculated from the weight-loss measurements. The frictional torque was recorded during experiment and friction coefficient was calculated. The tests were carried out at different loads of 9.8, 19.6 and 29.4 N. The sliding speed and the track diameter were fixed at 400 rpm and 40 mm for a sliding time of 20 min. The tests were conducted at ambient temperature without lubrication. To investigate the wear mechanisms of Al 6063TiB2 composite, worn surfaces and subsurface regions of wear pin tested at different Temperatures were observed under SEM. The high temperature friction and wear tests were conducted in air on a pin-on-disc machine with a high temperature furnace. The pins and discs used were of same size and material as that used in the wear test at ambient temperature. The tests were conducted at temperatures of 100, 200 and 300 _C. The sliding speed, time and track diameter were fixed at 400 rpm, 20 min and 40 mm respectively. The tests were conducted for a load of 9.8 N. Finally the worn surfaces were observed under Scanning electron microscope in order to investigate the wear mechanisms. 4. THERMAL PROPERTIES 4.1 Thermal expansion behaviour S.C. Tjong and K.FTam [9]. Tam investigated the mechanical properties and thermal expansion properties of the aluminium TiB2 composites. The CTE values of AlTiB2 composites were

significantly reduced compared to that of hipped Al, especially for the composites with high reinforcement content. Moreover, the CTE versus temperature curves exhibited an apparent peak minimum at 380 C during the first heating stage for the composites reinforced with TiB2 15 vol.%. This corresponds to the onset temperature for plastic deformation of Al matrix of the composites resulting from the relaxation of compressive stress. The experimental onset temperature needed to yield the aluminum matrix of the Al20 vol.% TiB2 composite agreed reasonably with that of theoretical prediction. The CTE as a function of temperature of both hipped Al and Al TiB2p MMCs determined from the first heating segment under a heating rate of 5 C min1. CTE of Al tends to decrease with increasing TiB2 content from 85 to 600 C as expected. In the temperature range from 140 to 320 C, the CTE of composites reinforced with 5 and 10 vol.% TiB2p shows a gradual increase with increasing temperature. However, the CTE remains nearly unchanged with temperature by increasing the reinforcement content to 15 and 20 vol.%. 4.2 Effect of Thermal cycling The tensile strength of the composites reinforced with TiB2 15 vol.% was deteriorated after thermal cycling at 85600 C for various cycles S.C. Tjong and K.F[9]. The upper-use temperature for MMCs is often limited by the deterioration of the mechanical strength resulting from thermally induced stresses and chemical reactions between the reinforcement and matrix. In the case of AlTiB2 composites, interfacial reaction would not occur due to the inertness of TiB2 particles towards aluminum. It is considered that internal thermal stress could degrade the mechanical strength of AlTiB2p composites subjected to thermal cycling. The tensile strength results for hipped Al and AlTiB2 composites are summarized. It is apparent that the tensile strength of the composites reinforced with TiB2 content 10% degrades slightly after thermal cycling for 50 or 100 Cycles. However, the Al20 vol.% TiB2 composite degrades dramatically after thermal cycling for 50 or 100 cycles. This is due to the development of larger thermal stress in the Al matrix resulting from higher TiB2 addition. Repeating cycling between the temperature range investigated eventually leads to the degradation of mechanical strength. This could lead to the fragmentation of TiB2 particles. S.C. Tjong et al [10] investigated thermal strain response curves of pure Al during three continuous cycles of heating and cooing between 50 and 300 _C. Apparently, pure Al displays hysteresis loop after one

cycle of heating and cooling. The heating and cooling curves in the first and second cycle are slightly different. They are reproducible after the second cycle run. At the end of the third cycle, the cooling curve shows a positive shift in dl/l indicating a length increase of the specimen thermal cycling. Moreover, pure Al exhibits a residual strain of 0.079% This result indicates that thermal cycling produces a net dimensional change of Al during the first 23 cycles. Generally, materials undergo cyclic deformation or thermal fatigue subjected to fast changes in temperature. Thermal stress can be developed in single-phase material exposed to such an environment, resulting in thermal damage. Internal stress has been reported to arise from the interior-tosurface temperature gradients of unreinforced aluminum alloy and stability of composites during thermal cycling. Thermal cycling measurements revealed that the strain hysteresis loops are developed in the specimens on exposure to fluctuating temperature environments. Higher thermal stability of insitu reinforcements and improved reinforcementmatrix bonding were beneficial in improving the dimensional stability of Al during thermal cycling. Thermal strain parameters deduced from the hysteresis loop can be used to assess the thermal damage of composites subject to practical thermal cycling conditions. 5. CONCLUTION In this review it is concluded that among various ceramic fibres the TiB2 fibres give improved mechanical, thermal and wear properties to the Aluminium metal matrix composites. 6. REFERANCE 1) Ahmad Changizi, Ali Kalkanli, Naci Sevinc, Production of in situ aluminumtitanium diboride master alloy formed byslagmetal reaction, Journal of Alloys and Compounds 509 (2011) 237240 2) T.V. Christy1, N. Murugan and S. Kumar, A Comparative Study on the Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Al 6061 Alloy and the MMC Al 6061/TiB2/12P,Journal of Minerals & Materials Characterization & Engineering, Vol. 9, No.1, pp.57-65, 2010 3) C.S. Ramesh , S. Pramod, R. Keshavamurthy , A study on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al 6061TiB2 in-situ composites, journal of Materials Science and Engineering A 528 (2011) 41254132

4) C.S. Ramesha, , A.R. Anwar Khanb, N. Ravikumar b, P. Savanprabhu b , Prediction of wear coefficient of Al6061TiO2 composites, journal of Wear 259 (2005) 602608 5) A. Mahamani, Mechanism of In-situ Reinforcement Formation in Fabrication of AA6061TiB2 Metal Matrix Composite, Indian Foundry JournalVol 57 No. 3 March 2011 6) C.S. Ramesha, Abrar Ahamed , B.H. Channabasappa , R. Keshavamurthy, Development of Al 6063TiB2 in situ composites, journal of Materials and Design 31 (2010) 2230 2236 7) S. Natarajan , R. Narayanasamy b, S.P. Kumaresh Babu , G. Dinesh , B. Anil Kumar , K. Sivaprasad Sliding wear behaviour of Al 6063/TiB2 in situ composites at elevated temperatures journal of Materials and Design 30 (2009) 25212531 8) Chen Xinga,b, Yang Chengxiao , Guan Ledinga, Yan Biaoa, TiB2/Al2O3 ceramic particle reinforced aluminum fabricated by spray deposition Journal of Materials Science and Engineering A 496 (2008) 5258 9) S.C. Tjong , K.F. Tam , Mechanical and thermal expansion behavior of hipped aluminum TiB2 composites, Journal of Materials Chemistry and Physics 97 (2006) 9197 10) S.C. Tjonga,*, K.F. Tama, S.Q. Wub , Thermal cycling characteristics of in-situ Al-based composites prepared by reactive hot pressing journal of Composites Science and Technology 63 (2003) 8997 11) S.C. Tjonga, G.S. Wanga, High-cycle fatigue properties of Al-based composites reinforced with in situ TiB2 and Al2O3 particulates, journal of Materials Science and Engineering A 386 (2004) 48 53