Investigation of mechanical and wear properties for SiC/Gr reinforcement Al359 alloy based metal matrix composite

Abstract

Aluminium alloys are widely used in engineering applications due to their numerous properties such as high wear resistance, good tensile strength, high electrical conductivity etc. To further enhance their properties, the alloy can be reinforced with the hard particles. In the present work Al359 alloy was reinforced with Silicon Carbide and Silicon Carbide/Graphite particles using stir casting process. Thereafter their mechanical and wear properties were investigated. It was found that the hardness of the Al359-Silicon Carbide composite is better than Al359-Silicon Carbide-Graphite composite. The Silicon Carbide/Graphite reinforced composite exhibits a superior ultimate tensile strength and elongation against Silicon Carbide reinforced composite. The wear test was conducted at different loading, sliding velocities and sliding distances conditions. Results showed that the wear resistance of Al359 alloy increased with the reinforcement of Silicon Carbide/Graphite material for higher loading, high sliding velocities and high sliding distance. SEM images of the worn surface of the pin specimens were examined to study their wear mechanism.