Slurry Erosion Wear of Al6061–SiC Composites Developed by Hybrid Technique

Abstract

Slurry erosion is a major concern in marine components which are subjected to wear and corrosion. These problems are addressed by developing materials which are harder and possessing excellent corrosion resistance in sea water. In this regard, there are serious attempts to modify the existing surfaces or developing new composite materials which are hard and also possess good strength. There are few reports suggesting the improved slurry erosion resistance of aluminium alloy by dispersing SiC within the metallic matrix. Higher the extent of SiC in the matrix material, better will be the slurry erosion resistant. In the light of above, the present work will focus on innovative development of Al6061-SiC composites by the combined process of powder metallurgy and casting followed by hot extrusion. A maximum amount of 40 wt % of SiC has been successfully incorporated in the hot extruded composites. The hot extruded composites are subjected to slurry erosive wear test in 3.5% NaCl solution containing silica sand particles. The parameters such as slurry concentration, rotational speed used in the present study are 10-30g/l, 500 – 1000 rpm respectively with test duration maintained at 24 hr. It is observed that increased content of SiC in matrix alloy has resulted in significant improvement in the slurry erosion resistance of the developed composites.

Air Jet Erosion Wear Behavior of Al6061-SiC-Carbon Fibre Hybrid Composite

“…However, the liquid metallurgy processing technique possesses unique features such as mass production of large and complex shaped composite castings. A blend of the above two processes will positively bring out enhanced homogeneity, greater volume incorporation of reinforcements, leading to production of light weight large structures with improved mechanical and tribological properties of the composites [1]. It has been reported that increased content of hard reinforcement in the soft matrix alloy has resulted in effective decrease in wear rates of the composites [2].…”

Fabrication and Wear Behavior of Particulate Reinforced Metal Matrix Composites-An Overview

“…Some of the generally used metallic alloys are Aluminum, Magnesium, Titanium, Zinc, Cobalt, and Cobalt -Nickel alloy [7]. On the other hand the structure and the properties of these composite materials are controlled by different size (macro, micro, and nano) and different types of reinforcements which are reinforced into base matrix.…”