CHAPTER 3 DEVELOPMENT OF HYBRID ALUMINIUM METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES AND CHARACTERIZATION 31 ‘TRODUCTION ‘The economic and environmental requirements and demand, it has become increasingly important to reduce vehicle weight for fuel efficiency. One of the effective approaches is using light materials with high thermal conductivity such as aluminium alloys. This choice allowed significant mass reduction even at lower temperature. Aluminium is one of the most abundant resources and relatively cheap with high stiffness/density and strength/density ratios with damage tolerance. Therefore, it has been used in the manufacturing of automotive and aerospace parts. Wear resistance and high thermal conductivity of aluminium Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) enable substitution in brake disc and brake drums, with an attempt of weight savings in the order of 50 to 60% and provide increased acceleration and reduced braking distance. Most of the automobile parts have high wear resistance due to sliding and moving condition and have also been exposed to severe corrosion environment condition,53 Among many varieties of aluminium alloys both Al 6061 and Al 7075 show the highest strength to weight ratio. In order to improve wear resistance and corrosion resistance reinforcement particulates have been added in the aluminium alloys. 32 PROPOSED WORK The foremost work of this study has been the production of Hybrid Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites (HAMMCS) by using liquid metallurgy stir-cast method and_ to investigate the effect of SiC and B,C particulates on the mechanical properties of Al 6061 and Al 7075 based HAMMCs under various percentages of B,C Gwt.%). > (Swt.%-15wt.%) with a constant percentage of, The wear behavior and the change in physical and mechanical properties have been taken into consideration. For the achievement of the above, an experimental set up has been prepared to facilitate the preparation of the required HAMMCs. It has been aimed at studying the effect of variation of the percentage composition to predict the wear rate as well as to measure the micro hardness. Experiments have been carried out by preparing samples of different percentage composition by. stir-cast technique and then subjected to computerized pin-on-dise wear testing machine under dry sliding condition and Rockwell micro hardness tester. A brief analysis of microstructure has been conducted by Optical Microscope and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to ensure the distribution of reinforcement in the matrix.33 MATERIALS AND SAMPLE PREPARATION ‘As mentioned earlier, the investigation focuses on SiC and ByC particulates reinforcement on Al 6061 and Al 7075 alloys (Al-Mg-Si) based matrix composite. The nominal composition of Al 6061 and Al 7075 alloys have been given in Tables 3.1 and 3.2, respectively. Aluminium matrix alloy has been preferred as it provides exceptional combination of strength to weight ratio and damage tolerance at elevated and cryogenic temperatures The density measurements have all been set according to the ASTM standard C1270-88, The particulate morphology study reveals that the shapes of both reinforcements have been angular-irregular. The observed size ranges have been presented in Table 3.3 and the SEM images have been presented in Figure 3.1 Table 3.1 Composition of Al 6061 by weight percentage Elements | Si | Fe | Cu Ni] Pb mg | cr] al 0.43] 0.7 |0.24] 0.139] 0.05 | 0.24 0.802 | 0.25 | Balance je 3.2 Composition of Al 7075 by weight percentage Elements | Si | Fe | Cu | Mn | Ni | Zn | ti | Mg | Cr | AL 0.06 | 0.18 | 1.63 | 0.074 | 0.05 | 5.62 | 0.049 | 2.52 | 0.22 | Balance58 Table 3.3 Details of particulates morphology Particulate Size Range (nm) Shape Si 30-70 Angular-irregular BiC 5-20 Angular-irregular Figure 3.1 SEM morphologies of reinforcements (a) (b) Boron carbide 34 MANUFACTURING OF HYBRID COMPOSITES. Stir-cast technique is one of the most popular Liquid Metallurgy Route (LMR) and has been known as a very promising route for manufacturing near net shape Hybrid Metal Matrix Composites (HMMCs) at a normal cost as produced by Umanath et al (2011). Vortex had been used by Hahsim et al (1999) and Naher et al (2003) to create a good distribution of the reinforcement material in the matrix.56 In the present work, stir-cast technique has been used to fabricate about Ikg of Al 6061 and Al 7075 alloys with varying weight percentages of SiC (5,10 and 15w1.%) and a constant weight percentage of B,C (3wt.%) as reinforcements. In order to achieve good binding between the matrix and particulates, one weight percent of magnesium alloy has been added. The experimental procedure has been summarized in the form of flow chart in Figure 3.2 and the experimental set up has well been illustrated in Figure 3.3 Raw material (Alalloy) Melting (Electric furnace) Pouring (Molten metal) ——___J Figure 3.2 Steps involved in stir-cast method The stircast furnace has been mounted on the floor and the temperature of the furnace has precisely be measured and controlled in order to achieve sound quality of the composite. Two thermocouples, one PID controller have been used for this purpose. As mild steel materials are having37 high temperature stability, they have been selected as stirrer rod and impeller. This stirrer, which has been connected to 1 HP DC motor through flexible link, has been used to the molten metal in semi solid state. The screw operator lift has been used to bring the stirrer in contact with the mixing materials, The melt has been maintained at a temperature between 750 to 800°C for one hour. Vortex has been created by using a mechanical stirrer. Before adding the particulates into matrix, it has been pre-heated in the range of 400 to 550 °C us jo the melt with constant ig electric furnace and added mechanical stirring for about 10min at 500 to 650 rpm condition. Melting eaperature Furnace temperature Stirrer motor setup ucible handleAfter complete addition of the particulates into the molten Al alloy, the molten slurry has been tilted and poured into the preheated (300°C) permanent steel die and finally allowed to cool in atmospheric conditions (room temperature). The composite has been solidified in die in the form of a cylindrical bar of diameter 28 mm and height 280 mm. The solidified composite test sample has been removed from the die and machined for required dimensions to obtain cylindrical pins with a diameter of 8, 10 and 12 mm and height of 32 mm. The specimens have been metallographically polished for microstructure examination, 35 MICROSTRUCTURE ANALYSIS The distribution of reinforced particles in the matrix has been examined with the help of optical- microscope. The optical micrographs of Al 6061 and Al 7075 unreinforced alloys and the developed composites with 5, 10, 15 wt.% of Si > and a constant 3w1.% B,C reinforcement have been shown in Figures 3.4(a)-(d) and Figures 3.5(a)-(4) respectively. From the microphotographs, it has been observed that the SiC and B,C reinforcement particulates have been distributed throughout Al 6061 and Al 7075 matrix alloys and also shows good binding between matrix and particles due to the addition of Iwt.% of binder magnesium alloy.59 Bac ty cui’ ae Figure 3.4 Micrographs of Al 6061 alloy and HAMMCs at 100X, a) cast Al 6061 alloy, b) Al 6061-5%SiC, ¢) Al 6061-10% SiC and ) Al 6061-15% SiC composites60 Bsc ty iat b od Figure 3.5 Micrographs of Al 7075 alloy and HAMMCs at 100X, AL 7075 alloy, b) Al 7075 -5%SiC, c) Al 7075 -10% 4) AI 7075 -15% SiC composites cast and61 The homogenous distribution and excellent binding of silicon carbide and boron carbide particulates with matrix have highly been influenced by the addition of 1 wi.% of magnesium alloy in molten metal during the preparation of composites. However, very few of the reinforcement particles have been found to be irregular in shape and have been randomly dispersed in the matrix, 3.6 HARDNESS TEST The Rockwell hardness test for the composite test specimens, with variation in the percentage of reinforcement content have been carried out at room temperature, Micro-hardness measurements have been made on Rockwell hardness testing machine by using an indentation load of 100 kg(f) and the corresponding values have been read using the B scale. The hardness values of the composite specimens have been confirmed with at least six indentation of each sample and then these average values have been utilized to calculate the hardness value of the developed composites. It has been observed that the micro-hardness of Al 6061 and Al 7075 composites increases drastically with increasing wt.% of harder particles. The hardness of HAMM\ 's increases with volume fraction of the particulate in the Al alloy matrix. The added amount of SiC and B,C particulates in matrix has enhanced the hardness by arresting the motion of dislocation of the matrix lattice. Another interesting property of particulates is its hard phase as compared to the alloy matrix. Hence, it renders its inherent property of hardness to the soft matrix as shown in Figure 3.6.SEA 606% HAMNCS —eAN7075 Haws: 100: 90. 80. Rockwell hardness (HRB) 70. 0% 5% 10% 15% % Volume fraction Figure 3.6 Hardness comparison of Al 6061 and Al 7075 HAMMCs Composites with higher hardness could be achieved by this technique which may be due to the fact that silicon carbide and boron carbide particles act as obstacles to the motion of dislocation. Figure 3.6 shows that the sample with less than 5 w1.% of SiC and 3 wt.% B«C particulate behaves almost similar to the unreinforced one. But the sample with 15 w1.% SiC and 3wt.% B,C showed ightly higher hardness as compared to 10 wt.% SiC and 3 wi% B,C. Thus, from strength and hardness point of view, 10 wt.% SiC and 3 wt.% B,C can be considered as the optimum weight percentage of the particulate for the desired application. 3.7 DENSITY TEST Density is the physical property that reflects the characteristics of the composites. In a composite, the proportion of the matrix and the reinforcement have been expressed either as the weight fraction (w), which is63 relevant to fabrication, or the volume fraction (9), which is commonly used in property calculations. By relating weight and volume fractions via density (p). the following expression has been obtained and its general form has been known as rule of mixture, Pe= Pn Sn Pe GB.) where, fq and p, - Density of the composite, the matrix and the reinforcement (particulates) respectively. Bund - Volume fraction of the matrix and the reinforcement (particulates) respectively. Experimentally, density of a matrix alloy and its composite has been determined by water displacement technique. A microbalance has been used to weigh the samples up to the precision level of 0.001 g in water and air for the purpose of the density measurement. An average of three observations has been considered in this study (Prasad 2007 and Veeresh kumar et al 2010). The unreinforced and reinforced Al alloy density is calculated theoretically by rule of mixture concept. Both the theoretical and the experimental values have been offered in Figures 3.7a and 3.7b, As seen from Figures 3.7a and 3.7b a discrepancy is there between the experimental and the used theoretical results. The heterogeneous dispersion of particles in the composites resulted in sample's variable density depending on locations. Nevertheless, the experimental and theoretical results agree with each qualitatively.2 Rule of mixture Measured value in ky 2754 * 5 Paro. é - 265. ° 5 70 % Percentage of SiC in Al 6061 alloy 2.864(b) 2 Rae of mixture in kg/m Measured vale in g/m’ 284 - a > . Saez. 2 z 5 zg 8200 27 ° 5 7 75 in Al 7075 alloy Figure 3.7 Theoretical and experimental density of (a) Al 6061 and (b) A 7075 based HAMMCs65 From the above Figures, it can be concluded that the experimental and the theoretical density have been in line with each other and confirms the suitability of the liquid metallurgy technique for the successful composite preparation. It can also be clearly shown that the density of the composite has higher magnitude than that of the base matrix, also the density of the composites increases with increase in filler content. The increase in density of composites can be attributed to higher density of the reinforcement particles, 38 SUMMARY The specimen HAMMCS has been fabricated by adopting the liquid metallurgy route. The name hybrid composite has been coined due to the presence of two reinforcement particulates in the matrix. The HAMMCs consists of varying weight percentage of SiC and a constant weight percentage of boron carbide. The HAMMCS test samples have been prepared and machined to required test dimension. Finally, the entire test samples are tested to determine the physical and mechanical properties of the composites. The results indicate that Al 7075 based HAMMCs show better hardness as compared to Al 6061 based HAMMCs. Test results also indicate that the properties of composite have been enhanced by the addition of reinforcement particles in the base matrix. Moreover, it has been concluded that the HAMMCs with 10wt.% of the reinforcement be the better composite in terms of cost, time and manufacturing constraints.