Mechanical and tribological properties of ceramic–aluminium composites developed using stirring-assisted squeeze casting

ABSTRACT The recent shoot-up in demand for lightweight materials with tailored properties has increased the interest of researchers, metallurgical and materials engineers towards aluminium matrix composites (AMCs). AMCs are light and rich in properties like corrosion, strength and wear. Moreover, AMCs are among the most economical compared to their counterparts due to the low cost and availability of aluminium. AMCs are gaining employment in many engineering sectors including power, construction, automobile and aerospace. Selection of suitable base materials and compatible reinforcement is of prime importance. Therefore, in the current study, an attempt has been made to develop an effective and economical silicon carbide-reinforced AMCs through stirring-assisted squeeze casting. Mechanical, metallurgical and wear investigations were done on the developed AMCs to determine the influence of ceramic addition on the base matrix. Microstructural investigations revealed grain refinement with even dispersion of silicon carbide in aluminium matrix. The ceramic reinforcement has also led to an increase of about 62% in ultimate tensile strength and 30% in microhardness of composites over the base matrix. Improvement in properties and microstructure can be attributed to grain refinement, reduction in porosity and strengthening of the aluminium matrix by the reinforcement particles. In addition, the tribological behaviour of the fabricated composites showed significant improvement with a reduction in wear rate and friction coefficient.