Validation of Archimedes Method and Acid Dissolution Test for Volume Fraction Determination of Aluminum Alloy Composites Reinforced with Ceramic Particles

Abstract

Metal matrix composites are the novel engineering materials finding applications in several extreme environmental and industrial requirements leading to the developments of numerous types of its kind in recent decades. Powder metallurgical techniques is one among the promising methods of producing intricate shaped end products out of the MMCs. Essentially the uniformity in distribution of the reinforcements and the accuracy in employing the percentile addition of the reinforcements decide the tailor made properties of these composites. There are several techniques to evaluate the reinforcement percentage and uniformity. This work concentrates on the analysis of effectiveness of volume fraction determination methods namely Archimedes test and acid dissolution test for 7075 Al/Al2O3 composite. Using the two methods the volume fraction of 7075Al/ Al2O3 composite prepared by powder metallurgy technique is determined. Advantages and disadvantages of both methods were analyzed using the result analysis and the observation indicated that the acid dissolution test produces more accurate results than the Archimedes test. In addition, the randomized selection of the specimens out of the end products leads to the corroboration of reinforcement uniformity in the composite matrix.