Studies on Mechanical Properties of 2024 Al - B4c Composites

A B S T R A C T The present study was aimed at evaluating the mechanical properties of Aluminium 2024 alloy reinforced with B4C. An effort is made to enhance the mechanical properties like tensile strength and hardness of AMCs by reinforcing 2024 Al matrix with B4C particles. By stir casting method, aluminium matrix was reinforced with boron carbide particulates of 325 mesh size. Composite combinations of different weight % - 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% & 5% were fabricated. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the fabricated AMCs were analyzed. Based on the results obtained from tensile strength test and hardness test of the metal matrix composites of different weight %, comparison study was made. The optical microstructure images reveal the homogeneous dispersion of B4C particles in the matrix. The reinforcement dispersion has also been identified with X-ray diffraction (XRD). The tensile strength and hardness were found to increase with the increase in wt. % of the reinforcement