ALUMINIUM BASED COMPOSITE

MATERIALS
APPLIED TO AUTOMOTIVE
INDUSTRY

MADE BY :
MOHD NASEEM AHMAD(2K13/ME/101)
MAYANK(2K13/ME/92)
RAHUL NEGI(2K13/ME/125)

HARBAN SINGH MEENA(2K13/ME/74)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to place on record my deep sense of
gratitude to Prof. MR. R.S WALIA HOD-Training and
Placement Department, D.T.U,Delhi and MR. RAVI
BUTOLA, India for their generous guidance, help and
useful suggestions.

SIGNATURE
MR. R.S WALIA

MR. RAVI BUTOLA

CERTIFICATE

We hereby certify that the work which is being

presented in the B.Tech. Minor Project Report
entitled ALUMINIUM BASED COMPOSITE
MATERIAL APPLIED TO AUTOMOTIVE
INDUSRTY, in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the award of the Bachelor of
Technology in Mechanical Engineering and
submitted to the Department of Mechanical
Engineering of Delhi Technological University is an
authentic record of my own work carried out during
a period from August 2015 to November 2015(
5th semester) under the supervision of Mr. R.S
Walia and M.r Ravi Butola, Mechanical
Department.

Introduction
A Composite material is a material system composed of
two or more macro constituents that differ in shape
and chemical composition and which are insoluble in each
other. The history of composite materials dates back to
early 20th century. In 1940, fiber glass was first used to
reinforce epoxy.
-Applications:
Aerospace industry
Sporting Goods Industry
Automotive Industry
Home Appliance Industry

Composite Survey

Composite Survey: Particle-I

Particle-reinforced

Fiber-reinforced

Examples:
matrix:
- Spheroidite
ferrite ()
steel

Structural

particles:
cementite
(Fe3C)
(brittle)

Adapted from Fig. 10.19, Callister 7e. (Fig. 10.19 is copyright Unit

(ductile)

60 m

Adapted from Fig. 16.4, Callister 7e. (Fig. 16.4 is courtesy Carboloy Syst

matrix:
- WC/Co
cemented cobalt
(ductile)
carbide V :

m
5-12 vol%!

particles:
WC
(brittle,
hard)

600
m
Adapted from Fig. 16.5, Callister 7e.

- Automobilematrix:
rubber
tires

particles:
C
(stiffer)

(compliant)
0.75 m

(Fig. 16.5 is courtesy

Composite Survey: Particle-II

Particle-reinforced

Fiber-reinforced

Structuralaaa

Concrete gravel + sand + cement

- Why sand
and gravel?
Sand
packs
into
gravel
Reinforced
concrete
- Reinforce
with
steel
rebar
or
voids
remesh

Prestressed concrete - remesh under tension during

- increases
strength
- even
if cement
setting of concrete.
Tension
release
puts
concretematrix
underis
cracked
compressive
force
Post tensioning tighten nuts to put under rod
- Concrete much stronger under compression.
but concrete under compression
- Applied tension must exceed compressive threa
nut force
rod

Composite Survey: Fiber

Particle-reinforced

Fiber-reinforced

Fibers themselves are very strong

Structural

Provide significant strength improvement to material

Ex: fiber-glass

Continuous glass filaments in a polymer matrix

Strength due to fibers

Polymer simply holds them in place and

environmentally protects them

Composite Survey:
Fiber
Particle-reinforced

Fiber-reinforced

Structural

Fiber Materials
Whiskers - Thin single crystals - large length to
diameter ratio
graphite, SiN, SiC
high crystal perfection extremely strong,
strongest known

very expensive

Fibers

polycrystalline or amorphous
generally polymers or ceramics

Wires

Metal steel, Mo, W

Nanocomposites
Composite material is a mixture of two or more materials
or insoluble in one another, possessing properties which
are superior to any of the component materials. Pedro et
al. (2009); Seal et. al. (2004); Vencl, Rac and Bobic (2004)
defined nanocomposites as a class of materials that
contain at least one phase with constituents in the
nanometre size range (1 nm = 109 m). Nanocomposite
is a multi-phase material which has nano particles in its
composition within its structure, the size will be less than
100 nm. The properties including mechanical, electrical
and thermal may differ depending upon the composition
of the materials used for the synthesis of the composites.
Ozdemir et al. (2008) and Veeresh, Rao and Selvaraj
(2011) shown that the structure and the properties of
nano- composites are controlled by the type and size of
the reinforcement, nature of bonding and processing
technique The amount, size and distribution of reinforcing
particles in the metal matrix play an important and
critical role in enhancing or limiting the overall properties
of the composite material. Reinforcing aluminium matrix
with much smaller particles, submicron or nano-sized
range, is one of the key factor in producing high-

performance composites, which yields improved

mechanical properties A simple example of a normal
composite is the concrete in our houses. It is a composite
of cement, sand, and metal rod. These composition
changes the overall property of the material used. It
becomes so hard that it can withstand tonnes of load
equally

Types of Nanocomposites
a) Ceramic Matrix Nanocomposites (CMNC)
b) Metal Matrix Nanocomposites (MMNC)
c)

a) CERAMIC MATRIX NANOCOMPOSITES (CMNC):- In this group of

composites
the main
part of the volume is
occupied by a ceramic,
Polymer
Matrix
Nanocomposites
(PMNC)
i.e. a chemical compound from the group of oxides, nitrides, borides,
silicides etc. In most cases, ceramic-matrix nanocomposites
encompass a metal as the second component. Ideally both
components, the metallic one and the ceramic one, are finely
dispersed in each other in order to elicit the particular nanoscopic
properties. Nanocomposites improve their optical, electrical and
magnetic properties as well as tribological, corrosion-resistance and
other protective properties. Ceramic Matrix Nanocomposites include
Al2O3/SiO2, SiO2/Ni, Al2O3/TiO2, Al2O3/SiC, Al2O3/CNT etc.
b) METAL MATRIX NANOCOMPOSITES (MMNC):- Metal matrix
nanocomposites (MMNC) refer to materials consisting of a ductile
metal or alloy matrix in which some nanosized reinforcement
material is implanted. These materials combine metal and ceramic
features, i.e., ductility and toughness with high strength and
modulus. Thus, metal matrix nanocomposites are suitable for
production of materials with high strength in shear/compression
processes and high service temperature capabilities. They show an

extraordinary potential for application in many areas, such as

aerospace, automotive industries and other Metal Matrix
Nanocomposites include Al/Al2O3, Al/SiC, Fe-Cr/ Al2O3, Ni/ Al2O3,
Co/Cr, Fe/MgO, Al/CNT, Mg/CNT etc.
c) POLYMER MATRIX NANOCOMPOSITES (PMNC):- Adding nano
particles to a polymer matrix can enhance its performance, often in
very dramatic degree, by simply capitalizing on the nature and
properties of the nanoscale filler. This strategy is particularly
effective in yielding high performance composites, when good
dispersion of the filler is achieved and the properties of the
nanoscale filler are substantially different or better than those of the
matrix, e.g. reinforcing a polymer matrix by much stiffer
nanoparticles of ceramics, clays, or carbon nanotubes. Polymer
Matrix Nanocomposites include thermoplastic/thermoset
polymer/layered silicates, polyester/TiO2, polymer/CNT,
polymer/layered double hydroxides.

Aluminium matrix
composites
Aluminiummatrixcomposites(AMCs)refertotheclassoflight
weight
highperformancealuminiumcentricmaterialsystems.Therei
nforcementinAMCs could be in the form of
continuous/discontinuous fibres, whisker or particulates,
in volume fractions ranging from a few percent to 70%.
Properties of AMCs can be
tailoredtothedemandsofdifferentindustrialapplicationsbys
uitablecombinations of matrix, reinforcement and
processing route. Presently several grades of AMCs are
manufactured by different routes. Three decades of
intensive research have pro- vided a wealth of new
scientific knowledge on the intrinsic and extrinsic effects

of ceramic reinforcement vis-a-vis physical, mechanical,

thermo-mechanical and tribological properties of AMCs. In
the last few years, AMCs have been utilised in high-tech
structural and functional applications including
aerospace, defence, automotive, and thermal
management areas, as well as in sports and recreation. It
is interesting to note that research on particle-reinforced
cast AMCs took root in India during the 70s, attained
industrial maturity in the developed world and is currently in the process of joining the mainstream of
materials. This paper presents an overview of AMC
material systems on aspects relating to processing,
microstruc- ture, properties and applications.

Types of AMCs
AMCs can be classified into four types depending on the type of
reinforcement.
Particle reinforced aluminium matrix composites (PAMCs)
These composites generally contain equiaxed ceramic
reinforcements with an aspect ratio less than about 5. Ceramic
reinforcements are generally oxides or carbides or borides (Al2O3
or SiC or TiB2) and present in volume fraction less than 30% when
used for structural and wear resistance applications. However, in
electronic packaging applications reinforcement volume fraction

could be as high as 70%. In general, PAMCs are manufactured

either by solid state (PM processing) or liquid state (stir casting,
infiltration and in-situ) processes. PAMCs are less expensive
compared to CFAMCs. Mechanical properties of PAMCs are inferior
compared to whisker/short fibre/continuous fibre reinforced AMCs
but far superior compared to unreinforced aluminium alloys.
These composites are isotropic in nature and can be subjected to
a variety of secondary forming operations including extrusion,
rolling and forging. Figure 1a shows the microstructure of cast
aluminium matrix composite having high volume fraction (40 vol
%) SiC particle reinforcements
Short fibre- and whisker-reinforced aluminium matrix
composites (SFAMCs)
These contain reinforcements with an aspect ratio of greater than
5, but are not continuous. Short alumina fibre reinforced
aluminium matrix composites is one of the first and most popular AMCs to be developed and used in pistons. These were
produced by squeeze infiltration process. Figure 1b shows the
microstructure of short fibre reinforced AMCs. Whisker rein- forced
composites are produced by either by PM processing or by
infiltration route. Mechan- ical properties of whisker reinforced
composites are superior compared to particle or short fibre
reinforced composites. However, in the recent years usage of
whiskers as reinforcements in AMCs is fading due to perceived
health hazards and, hence of late commercial exploita- tion of
whisker reinforced composites has been very limited. Short fibre
reinforced AMCs display characteristics in between that of
continuous fibre and particle reinforced AMCs
Continuous fibre-reinforced aluminium matrix composites
(CFAMCs)
Here, the reinforcements are in the form of continuous fibres (of
alumina, SiC or carbon) with a diameter less than 20m. The
fibres can either be parallel or pre woven, braided prior to the
production of the composite. AMCs having fibre volume fraction

upto 40% are produced by squeeze infiltration technique. More

recently 3MTm corporation has developed 60 vol%alumina fibre
(continuous fibre) reinforced composite having a tensile strength
and elastic stiffness of 1500 MPa and 240 GPa respectively. These
composites are produced by pressure infiltration route. Figure 1c
shows the microstructure of continuous fibre (alumina) reinforced
AMCs.
Mono filament reinforced aluminium matrix composites
(MFAMCs)
Monofilaments are large diameter (100 to 150m) fibres, usually
produced by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of either SiC or B
into a core of carbon fibre or W wire. Bending flexibility of
monofilaments is low compared to multifilaments. Monofilament
reinforced aluminium matrix composites are produced by diffusion
bonding techniques, and is limited to super plastic forming
aluminium alloy matrices.
In CFAMCs and MFAMCs, the reinforcement is the principal loadbearing constituent, and role of the aluminium matrix is to bond
the reinforcement and transfer and distribute load. These
composites exhibit directionality. Low strength in the direction
perpendicular to the fibre orientation is characteristic of CFAMCs
and MFAMCs. In particle and whisker rein- forced AMCs, the matrix
is the major load-bearing constituent. The role of the
reinforcement is to strengthen and stiffen the composite by
preventing matrix deformation by mechanical restraint.
In addition to four types of AMCs described above, another variant
of AMCs known as hybrid AMCs have been developed and are in
use to some extent. Hybrid AMCs essentially contain more than
one type of reinforcement. For example, mixture of particle and
whisker, or mixture of fibre and particle or mixture of hard and
soft reinforcements. Aluminium matrix composite containing
mixture of carbon fibre and alumina particles used in cylindrical
liner applications is an example of hybrid composite

Primary processing of AMCs

Solid state processing
Powder blending and consolidation (PM processing):
Blending of aluminium alloy powder with ceramic short
fibre/whisker particle is versatile technique for the production of
AMCs. Blending can be carried out dry or in liquid suspension.
Blending is usually followed by cold compaction, canning,
degassing and high temperature consolidation stage such as hot
isostatic pressing (HIP) or extrusion. PM processed AMCs, contain
oxide particles in the form of plate-like particles of few tens of nm
thick and in volume fractions ranging from 005 to 05 depending
on powder history and processing conditions. These fine oxide
particles tends to act as a dispersion-strengthening agent and
often has strong influence on the matrix properties particularly
during heat treatment.
Diffusion bonding: Mono filament-reinforced AMCs are mainly
produced by the dif- fusion bonding (foil-fibre-foil) route or by the
evaporation of relatively thick layers of alu- minium on the
surface of the fibre. 6061 Al-boron fibre composites have been
produced by diffusionbondingviathefoil-fibrefoilprocess.However,theprocessismorecommonlyused to produce
Ti based fibre reinforced composites. The process is cumbersome
and obtaining high fibre volume fraction and homogeneous fibre
distribution is difficult. The process is not suitable to produce
complex shapes and components
Physical vapour deposition: The process involves continuous
passage of fibre through a region of high partial pressure of the
metal to be deposited, where condensation takes place so as to
produce a relatively thick coating on the fibre. The vapour is
produced by directing a high power electron beam onto the end of
a solid bar feed stock. Typical deposition rates are 510m per
minute. Composite fabrication is usually completed by assembling
the coated fibres into a bundle or array and consolidating in a hot
press or HIP operation. Composites with uniform distribution of

fibre and volume fraction as high as 80% can be produced by this

technique.

Liquid state processing

Stir casting: This involves incorporation of ceramic particulate
into liquid aluminium melt and allowing the mixture to solidify.
Here, the crucial thing is to create good wetting between the
particulate reinforcement and the liquid aluminium alloy melt. The
simplest and most commercially used technique is known as
vortex technique or stir-casting technique. The vortex technique
involves the introduction of pre-treated ceramic particles into the
vortex of molten alloy created by the rotating impeller. Lloyd
(1999) reports that vortex-mixing technique for the preparation of
ceramic particle dispersed aluminium matrix composites was
originally developed by Surappa & Rohatgi (1981) at the Indian
Institute of Science. Subsequently several aluminium companies
further refined and modified the process which are currently
employed to manufacture a variety of AMCs on commercial scale.
Microstructural inhomogeneties can cause notably particle
agglomeration and sedimenta- tion in the melt and subsequently
during solidification. Inhomogeneity in reinforcement dis- tribution
in these cast composites could also be a problem as a result of
interaction between suspended ceramic particles and moving
solid-liquid interface during solidification. Gene- rally it is possible
to incorporate upto 30% ceramic particles in the size range 5 to
100m in a variety of molten aluminium alloys. The meltceramic
particle slurry 11 may be trans- ferred directly to a shaped mould
prior to complete solidification or it may be allowed to solidify in
billet or rod shape so that it can be reheated to the slurry form for
further process- ing by technique such as die casting, and
investment casting. The process is not suitable for the
incorporation of sub-micron size ceramic particles or whiskers.

Another variant of stir casting process is compo-casting. Here,

ceramic particles are incorporated into the alloy in the semi solid
state.
Infiltration process: Liquid aluminium alloy is injected/infiltrated
into the interstices of the porous pre-forms of continuous
fibre/short fibre or whisker or particle to produce AMCs.
Depending on the nature of reinforcement and its volume fraction
preform can be
infiltrated,withorwithouttheapplicationofpressureorvacuum.AMCsh
avingreinforcement volume fraction ranging from 10 to 70% can
be produced using a variety of infiltration techniques. In order for
the preform to retain its integrity and shape, it is often necessary
to use silica and alumina based mixtures as binder. Some level of
porosity and local variations in the volume fractions of the
reinforcement are often noticed in the AMCs processed by
infiltration technique. The process is widely used to produce
aluminium matrix composites having particle/whisker/short
fibre/continuous fibre as reinforcement.
Spray deposition: Spray deposition techniques fall into two
distinct classes, depend- ing whether the droplet stream is
produced from a molten bath (Osprey process) or by con- tinuous
feeding of cold metal into a zone of rapid heat injection (thermal
spray process). The spray process has been extensively explored
for the production of AMCs by injecting ceramic
particle/whisker/short fibre into the spray. AMCs produced in this
way often exhibit inhomogeneous distribution of ceramic
particles. Porosity in the as sprayed state is typically about 5
10%. Depositions of this type are typically consolidated to full
density by subse- quent processing. Spray process also permit the
production of continuous fibre reinforced aluminium matrix
composites. For this, fibres are wrapped around a mandrel with
controlledinter fibre spacing, and the matrix metal is sprayed onto
the fibres. A composite monotype is thus formed; bulk composites
are formed by hot pressing of composite monotypes. fibre volume
fraction and distribution is controlled by adjusting the fibre
spacing and the number of fibre layers. AMCs processed by spray

deposition technique is relatively inexpensive with cost that is

usually intermediate between stir cast and PM processes.

Literature review
PAP
ER
TITL
E

JO
UR
NA
L
NO
.

COM
POSI
TIO
N
OF
MET
AL
ALL
OY

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

ME
AS
UR
EM
ENT
TEC
HNI
QU
ES

FAB
RIC
ATI
ON
ME
TH
OD

APP
LIC
ATI
ON
OF
CO
MP
OSI
TES

Girisha
H.n. ,
Dr.K.V
Sharma

Effec
t of
mag
nesi
um
on
stren
gth
and
micr
ostru
cture
of
Alum
iniu
m
Copp
er
Mag
nesi
um
alloy

AUTH

ISS
N
22
2955
18

Al4C
u+M
g(.52%)
subj
ecte
d to
T6
heat
treat
ment
for
5hr
at
175
degr
ee
Celsi
us.

PAPER

ALLOY

AlCu4
Mg(0)
AlCu4
Mg(0.
5)
AlCu4
Mg1.0
AlCu4
Mg(1.
5)
AlCu4
Mg(2.
0)

JOUR

ULTIMATE
TENSILE
STRENGT
H

BHN

As
cas
t

5 hr
trea
tme
nt
113.
94

As
cas
t

133.
61

72.
75

91.0

216
.79

89.
7

91.
3

138.
94

89.
88

83.2

113.
23

89.
88

91.0

10
3.5
2
10
6.4
8
11
8.7
4
12
1.0
9
16
3.4
8

COMPOSITI

71.
68

5 hr
trea
tme
nt
89.7

MECHA

Tens
ile
and
Har
dne
ss
test
as
per
AST
M
stan
dar
ds

MEAS

Gra
vity
Die
Cast
ing

FAB

APPLIC

OR
NAME

TITLE

NAL
NO.

ON OF
METAL
ALLOY

NICAL
PROPER
TIES

UREM
ENT
TECHN
IQUES

S.A
Hosein
i,Khalil
Ranjba
r,R.
Dehm
olaei,A
.R
amira
ni

Fabricatio
n of Al
5083
surface
composit
es
reinforced
by CNT
and
cerium
oxide
nano
particles
via
friction
stir
processin
g

622(2
015)7
25733

Al5083
(Zn0.061%,Cu0.06%,Ti0.04%,Si0.22%,Cr0.11%,Fe0.4%,
Mn-0.4%,Mg4.51%,Albalance)
+CNT/CeO2
(volume
ratio25-75)

Increase
in
volume
ratio
from
from 2575 will
increase
meachan
ical
propertie
s and
corrosion
resistanc
e

Tensile
Test
and
Fractog
raphy,

MECHANICAL
PROPERTIES

MEAS
UREM
ENT
TECHN
IQUES

AUTH
OR
NAME

PAPER
TITLE

JOU
RN
AL
NO.

COMPOSIT
ION OF
METAL
ALLOY

RIC
ATI
ON
ME
TH
OD
Frict
ion
Stir
Cast
ing

ATION
OF
COMPO
SITES

FAB
RIC
ATI
ON
ME
TH

APPLICATION
OF
COMPOSITES

In
Aerospa
ce
industri
es.

OD
Prade
ep
Sharm
a,
Satpal
Sharm
a,Dine
sh
Khand
uja

Product
ion and
some
propert
ies of
Si3N4
reinforc
ed
alumini
um
alloy
compos
ites

3(2
015
)35
2359

AA6082(Si0.71.3%,Fe0.00.5%,Cu0.0.0.1%,Mn0.41.0%,Mg0.61.2%,Zn0.0.0.2%,Ti0.0.0.1%,Cr0.0-.25%,Al
-balance)
And
Si3N4(012%)

Hradness
increases with
increase in %
of Si3N4 i.e,
from 49.5BHN
to
93.5BHN.Redu
ction in
ductility from
8.7 to 4.3 &
improved
tensile
strength from
161.5MPa to
201MPa

Reciprocating
engine
components,tu
rbochargers,be
arings etc.
-

AUT
HOR
NAM
E

PAPE
R
TITLE

JOU
RNA
L
NO.

Dines
h M.
Pargu
nde,P
rof.
Gajan
an N.
Thoka
l,Prof.
Dhan
raj P.
Tamb
uskar,
Mr.
Swap
nil,S.
kulkar
ni

Devel
opme
nt of
alumi
nium
based
metal
matri
x
comp
osite
(AlSic
)

EISSN
2249
8944

COM
POSI
TIO
N
OF
MET
AL
ALL
OY
Opti
mum
ratio
is Al75%
SiC25%

MECHANICAL
PROPERTIES

MEAS
UREM
ENT
TECH
NIQU
ES

FABRICATION
METHOD

APPL
ICATI
ON
OF
COM
POSI
TES

Hardness and impact

strength are maximum
at optimum ratio.
Si Hardn Impact
C( ess(B
Strength(J
%) HN)
)
23 43.73
31.67
24 43.73
33
2
44.86 35.33
5
26 44.76
35.33
27 43.86
34

Norma
lised
Displa
cemen
t Test

Stir casting

Form
ula
one
car
brake
s,
advan
ced
bicycl
e
frame
s.

Preparation of
material
Placing raw
material ina
graphite crucible
into a muffler
furnace
Heating the
crucible above
the liquids
temp.of both
materials
Stirring is done
to homogenize
the
microstructure at
that temp. and
then adding the
reinforcement
into the molten
alloy.

AUTH
OR
NAME

PAPER
TITLE

JOUR
NAL
NO.

COMPOSITION
OF METAL
ALLOY

MECHANICA
L
PROPERTIES

Dinesh
Kumar
Koli,G
eeta
Agnih
otri,Ra
jesh
purohi
t

A review of
properties,
behavior
and
processing
methods of
for Al nano
Al203
composites

6(201
4)567589

Al & Al2O3(1-7
vol%) and
sintering at 620
degree temp.

Strength
increased
with 4%
volume
fraction of
particulate.
Porosity level
increased
slightly with
increasing
particulate
content.The
yield strength
and ductility
improved and
maximum
hardness at
2.5% Al2O3
at 800 degree
cast.

Si-7.5wt%
Mg-0.38wt%
Zn-0.02wt%
Cu-0.001wt%
Al-balance as
matrix matter
and then adding
Al2O3 as the
particulate.

MEASU
REMEN
T
TECHNI
QUES

FAB
RICA
TIO
N
MET
HOD
Powd
er
Meta
lllurg
y
Casti
ng

APPLI
CATIO
N OF
COMP
OSITE
S

Reference
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addition on the stability of AlAl2O3 foams made by a powder
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-ASTM Designation: E9-89a, e1, 2000b. Standard test methods of
compression testing of metallic materials at room temperature.
-ASTM Designation: E10, e1, 2000c. Standard test method for
Brinell hardness of metallic materials.
Daoud, A., Reif, W., 2002. Influence of Al2O3 particulate on the
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-Dieter, G.E., Bacon, D., 1986. Mechanical Metallurgy. McGraw-Hill,
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Hassan, S.F., Gupta, M., 2008. Effect of submicron size Al2O3
particulates on microstructural and tensile properties of elemental
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382.

-Mazahery, A., Abdizadeh, H., Baharvandi, H.R., 2009.

Development of high-performance A356/nano-Al2O3 composites.
Mater. Sci. Eng., A 518, 6164.
-Naji, H., Zebarjao, S.M., Sajjadi, S.A., 2008. The effects of volume
percent and aspect ratio of carbon fiber on fracture toughness of
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413420.

Experimental procedure
Details of apparatus
-Connecting rod is the intermediate link between the piston and
the crank. And is responsible to transmit the push and pull from
the piston pin to crank pin, thus converting the reciprocating
motion of the piston to rotary motion of the crank. Connecting
rod, automotives should be lighter and lighter, should consume
less fuel and at the same time they should provide comfort and
safety to passengers, that unfortunately leads to increase in
weight of the vehicle. This tendency in vehicle construction led
the invention and implementation of quite new materials which
are light and meet design requirements.weight on crankshaft.
Application of metal matrix composite enables safety increase
and advances that leads to aluminium connecting rods reinforced
with steel continuous fibers.
By carrying out these modifications to engine elements will result
in effective reduction of weight, increase of durability of particular
part, will lead to decrease of overall engine weight, improvement
in its traction parameters, economy and ecological conditions
such as reduction in fuel consumption and emission of harmful
substances into atmosphere.
table-1

Table-2

1. For aluminium 360

15%fly ash

2. aluminium 6061-9%SiC-

VOLUME, WEIGHT AND STIFFNESS OF THE CONNECTING

ROD.
Weight of the connecting rod = 268.1811
Weight of the

connecting rod = 151.5555

Deformation = 0.137925

Deformation = 0.034481

Stiffness = weight / deformation

deformation

Stiffness = weight /

Stiffness = 268.1811/0.137925
151.5555/0.034481

Stiffness =

Conclusion
- WEIGHT CAN BE REDUCED BY CHANGING THE
MATERIAL OF THE CURRENT AL360 CONNECTING
ROD TO HYBRID ALFASIC COMPOSITES.
-THE OPTIMISED CONNECTING ROD IS 43.48%
LIGHTER THAN THE CURRENT CONNECTING ROD.
-THE NEW OPTIMISED CONNECTING ROD IS
COMPARATIVELYMUCH STIFFER THAN THE FORMER.
Applications of aluminium and composite materials
with aluminium base provide design and produce
high performance vehicles with safety
improvements and improvements of energy
efficiency and ecology aspects that are resistant to
corrosion and with reduced masses. Composites
with aluminium base are usually used for making
of engine pistons, cylinders barrel, connection
rods, elements of vehicles braking systems, Cardan

shafts and so on. By the application of aluminium

at vehicle body, indirectly an increase of engine
lifetime is done, the same as increase of lifetime of
gear box, breaking system, wheels and other
vehicle systems.

Future aspect
From the aspect that over 50 % of global production of
composite material with metal matrices is used at
automotive industry, the focus of application of this
material will be put on cars. Large numbers of car parts
are made of composite materials. The ratios of their
prices and qualities present main causes for applications
of those materials. It is obvious that composite materials
with metal matrices are generally used for responsible
parts at modern cars.
Engine pistons
Engine pistons operate in very hard dynamical, thermal
and mechanical conditions. The pistons are loaded to
cyclic mechanical load with frequency of around 100 Hz,

so fatigue damages are primarily important. Pistons must

provide intimate contacts with cylinders at maximal
pressures during expansion periods. Dynamic endurance,
high resistance to wear and thermal expansion coefficient
are necessary characteristics of materials for cylinders. It
is also necessary that pistons can operate at
temperatures of around 3000 C. Due to temperature
gradients and thermal cycles, high thermal conductivity
must be provided in order to reduce temperatures and
thermal impacts.
Breakthrough in the area of aluminium MMC application is
done by production of pistons for diesel engines at Toyota
car manufacturer [3, 7, 19]. The serial production of those
pistons started in Japan at 1983. The materials for the
pistons were composite materials with aluminium alloy
matrices reinforced by ceramic particles and fibres in
order to reduce wear and to improve resistance to
material fatigue at high temperatures. Those composites
were made by squeeze casting method. Due to large
series in production of over 100.000 items per mount, the
produced parts had excellent quality at satisfactory
prices.
Metal matrices composites with ceramic reinforcements
used for production of pistons have significantly higher
resistance to wear in relation to materials used for
matrices. Simultaneously, pistons have small values of
thermal expansion coefficients that provide use of narrow
tolerances, so that it results in increasing of maximal
allowed pressures and improved thermal conductivity
properties [7]. Lower weights of pistons also have positive
influence to beneficial properties of materials in

exploitation. Besides that, method of MMC casting is quite

simpler than traditional method of piston fabrication. In
general, beside higher prices of aluminium materials by
units, summary prices of pistons are smaller than pistons
made of traditional materials. Large numbers of positive
performances of MMC application implicate use of those
materials for pistons made. As reinforce materials to
metal matrices silicon carbide (SiC) is usually used
especially at race cars. The pistons made of MMC are
widely used in Asia and West Europe car producers.
Engine piston

Engine cylinders
Wide usage of aluminium alloys for production of engine
block is main cause of application of those materials for
cylinders. Serial production of cylinder barrel made of
aluminium MMC started in 1990. It was used for the first
time at 2,3 litre engine of Honda Prelude [7]. Hybrid
composite material with aluminium matrix was reinforced
by carbon and Al2O3 (12 %Al2O3+9 % carbon) for this
application. The cylinders barrels were made by squeeze

castings at medium pressure. The example of engine with

cylinder barrel made of aluminium MMC .
-Resistance to wear of aluminium MMC is higher than
resistance to wear of cast iron. The summary weight of
engine block is reduced by 20 % by application of MMC.
Besides that, aluminium MMC has higher thermal
conductivity and, by that, operating temperature is lower
so exploitation period is longer. Thickness of cylinder
barrel is smaller than one made of cast iron, so the
increase of working volume of exact engine is provided
without its redesign.
-The engines with cylinder barrel made of MMC composite
are used at Honda S2000 sport cars, also at Acura NSX
cars type and at Porsche Bower motors [3, 7]. The
engines at Toyota Celica 2000 cars also have cylinder
barrels made of MMC. The cylinder barrels made of
aluminium MMC are used, also, at high performances
Honda motorbikes. Those materials are produced by
powder metallurgy methods.

Engine pushrods
-Aluminium MMC reinforced by fibres is used for
production of pushrods of valves at engines. As
reinforcing material, fibres of Al2O3 are used, while for

the matrix aluminium alloys are used. The first producer

of these parts made of MMC is 3M Corporation (Fig. 5).
The pushrods of engine valve made of alumina MMC have
25 % higher stiffness to flexion and twice higher
absorption capacity than the related parts made of
common steel. Due to smaller density and weight,
number of rotations can be increased for 200 400
1/min without additional dynamic loads. The exploitation
period of those pushrods are significantly higher than
ones made of steels [14, 16].

Engine connection rod

-By making engine connection rod of aluminium MMC
mass reduction of 57 % related to steel one is obtained.
By reduction of piston/connection rod mass, vibrations
during operation are also reduced. By that, reduction of
load at crankshaft and at its bearing is also done, energy
losses due to friction are also reduced, the same as
engine fuel consumption . It is concluded that reduction
of crankshaft by 1 kg caused related reduction of
balancing counterweight by 7 kg [14]. As material for
making of connection rod, composites with aluminium
matrix reinforced by SiC (Nissan) or Al2O3 (Dupondt,

Chrysler) are used [8]. By application of aluminium

connection rod, reduction of fuel consumption and
improvement of engine power are done with
simultaneous increase of its total production cost .
-Further researches of MMC are focused on production of
materials that can be used for pistons connecting rods.
The prototype of connecting rod made of aluminium
MMC . The researches in this area are still in process.

Brake systems
-Due to beneficial characteristics, high resistance to wear
and high thermal conductivity, aluminium MMC is used
for production of break discs and drums at cars. On the
basis of the weight reductions, inertial forces are also
reduced, so as summary weight of vehicles and fuel
consumptions.
Al-Mg and Al-Si alloys reinforced by ceramic Al-Mg and
Al-Si alloys reinforced by ceramic materials such as SiC
and Al2O3 are used for production of brake discs and
drums [20 25]. The technology processes for

production of composite materials are different casting

methods, while volumetric share of reinforcing materials
is up to 20%. Large number of producers in automotive
industry use aluminium MMC for production of brake
systems. At Lotus Elise (1996 1998) all four sets of
brake system are made of MMC. PlymonthPromler rear
sets of brake system are made of MMC. Uncontinual
reinforced aluminium MMC is used for brake discs of
Volkswagen Lupo 3L and Audi A2. Hybrid and electrical
vehicles are also equipped by brake systems made of
aluminium MMC as Toyota RAV4, Ford Prodigy and
General Motors Precept [3, 7, 25]. Brake systems made of
aluminium MMC are presented in Fig. 7.
-Brake discs made of uncontinual reinforced aluminium
MMC are used at high speed trains in Germany Inter
City Express (ICE). Those brake discs are used at ICE-1
and ICE-2 trains on more than 100 train compositions [7].
-Aluminium MMC is also used at brake systems of race
cars. As materials for brake systems of race cars, Al
2124/SiC/25p is used. Braking pads made of MMC are
used at Porsche 911. All those composites have ceramic
reinforcements

Other applications
MMC with aluminium matrices have very wide area of application.
Due to specific characteristics and properties, those materials are
used for production of brake calliper assembles, gears, valves,
belt pulleys, turbines, turbo-compressors, housings of pumps and
supporting parts.
The basic advantages of MMC as materials for machine parts are
higher resistance to wear, low value of thermal expansion
coefficients and good thermal properties. The prices of MMC are
still high, but with decreasing trend due to quantity of produced
parts made of those materials.