Fabrication and tribological study of AA6061 hybrid metal matrix composites reinforced with SiC/B₄C nanoparticles

Abstract

Purpose Composite materials are replacing the traditional materials because of their remarkable properties and the addition of nanoparticles making a new trend in material world. The nano addition effect on tribological properties is essential to be used in automotive and industrial applications. The current work investigates the sliding wear behavior of an aluminum alloy (AA) 6061-based hybrid metal matrix composites (HMMCs) reinforced with SiC and B4C ceramic nanoparticles. Design/methodology/approach The hybrid composites are fabricated using stir casting process. Two different compositions were fabricated by varying the weight percentage of the ceramic reinforcements. An attempt has been made to study the wear and friction behavior of the composites using pin-on-disc tribometer to consider the effects of sliding speed, sliding distance and the normal load applied. Findings The tribological tests are carried out and the performances were compared. Increase in sliding speed to 500 rpm resulted in the rise of temperature of the contacting tribo-surface which intensified the wear rate at 30N load for the HMMC. The presence of the ceramic particles further reduced the contact region of the mating surface thus reducing the coefficient of friction at higher sliding speeds. Oxidation, adhesion, and abrasion were identified to be the main wear mechanisms which were further confirmed using energy dispersive spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) of the worn out samples. Practical implications The enhancement of wear properties is achieved because of the addition of the SiC and B4C ceramic nanoparticles, in which these composites can be applied to automobile, aerospace and industrial products where the mating parts with less weight is required. Originality/value The influence of nanoparticles on the tribological performance is studied in detail comprising of two different ceramic particles which is almost new research. The sliding effect of hybrid composites with nano materials paves the way for using these materials in engineering and domestic applications.

Multi-attribute optimization of EDM process parameters for machining of SiC and B4C particle reinforced Al 6061 metal matrix composite adopting topsis method

“…A typical stir casting procedure was used to create an aluminum-based MMC with an AA6061 alloy configuration and reinforcement of 1.5 wt percent SiC and B4C [19].…”

Synthesis and characterization of 7075 Al alloy–SiC composites

“…Characterization of AA 2014/ SiC composite was done by SEM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and XRD. The results showed that at elevated temperatures, nano-MgO formed initially on the surface of the oxidized SiC particles and then turned into nano-MgAl 2 O 4 crystal due to the reaction between the SiO 2 and aluminium alloy containing Mg. Das et al (2019) fabricated AA6061/ B 4 C (nanoparticles) and AA6061/SiC (nanoparticles) hybrid metal-matrix composites (HMMCs) using stir casting process. Weight percentage of the B 4 C and SiC reinforcements was varied to fabricate different types of HMMCs.…”

Tribological behavior of aluminum silicon eutectic alloy based composites under dry and wet sliding for variable load and sliding distance

“…The improvement in mechanical and tribological properties can be further enhanced by incorporation of various reinforcements such as SiC, Al 2 O 3 , Aluminum Nitride, Nickel aluminide, B 4 C, TiO 2 , MoS 2 , WS 2 , CNT, Graphite, GNP, GO, Cenium dioxide, etc. [5][6][7][8][9][10]. Due to high hardness of reinforcement wear resistance increases and introduction of lamellar solid improves the load-carrying capacity and provides lubrication to the materials [11,12].…”