Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 1

Contents
Abstract
Introduction
Literature Survey
Methodology
Stir Casting
Hand layup method
Materials
Physical properties
Chemical composition
Mechanical properties
Silicon carbide
Reference










Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 2

Abstract
Aluminium is available in various compositions, including pure metal, alloys for
casting, and alloys for the manufacture of wrought products. The influences of alloy
composition, microstructure and Heat treatment on chemical and mechanical properties of
Aluminium alloys will be discussed in relation to its Applications. Aluminium alloys of 5xxx
series is used in the applications of electric wires, drink can tops, marine superstructure,
automotive, cryogenic, ship applications. Excellent corrosion resistance and high strength Triple
shaved for smoother feeding and consistent contact also new studies and innovative multi-
material concepts are discussed. Aluminium light-weight solutions are compared with that of
other materials, like new steels, magnesium, plastics and composites. Aluminium achieves
weight savings of parts up to 50% while maintaining safety and performance in a cost efficient
way, competing efficiently with other light-weight materials .using aluminium oxide (Al
2
O
3
)
alloy.











Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 3

INTRODUCTION:
Aluminum and its alloys offer an extremely wide range of capability and applicability,
with a unique combination of advantages that make it the material of choice for numerous
products and markets. It is the purpose of this presentation to (a) p rovide an ove rv i ew of the va
rious types of aluminum alloys that are available to engineers,designers,and others considering
aluminum for new products or applications, and (b) to describe the properties and characteristics
that make aluminum alloys so useful. Aluminum is the most popular matrix for the metal matrix
composites (MMCs). The Al alloys are quite attractive due to their low density, their capability
to be strengthened by precipitation, their good corrosion resistance, high thermal and electrical
conductivity, and their high damping capacity. They offer a large variety of mechanical
properties depending on the chemical composition of the Al-matrix. They are usually reinforced
by Al2O3, SiC, C but SiO2, B, BN, B4C, AlN may also be considered.Metal Matrix Composite
(MMC) is engineered combination of metal (Matrix) and hard particles (Reinforcement) to
tailored properties. Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) have very light weight, high strength,
and stiffness and exhibit greater resistance to corrosion, oxidation and wear.
Aluminum-silicon carbide metal matrix composite has low density and light weight, high
temperature strength, hardness and stiffness, high fatigue strength and wear resistance etc. in
comparison to the monolithic materials. Amongst various processing routes stir casting is one of
the promising liquid metallurgy technique utilized to fabricate the composites. The process is
simple, flexible, and applicable for large quantity production. The liquid metallurgy technique is
the most economical of all the available technique in producing of MMC .In this study stir
casting is accepted as a particularly promising route, currently can be practiced commercially. Its
advantages lie in its simplicity, flexibility and applicability to large quantity production. It is also
attractive because, in principle, it allows a conventional metal processing route to be used, and
hence minimizes the final cost of the product. In general, the solidification synthesis of metal
matrix composites involves producing a melt of the selected matrix material followed by the
introduction of a reinforcement material into the melt. To obtain a suitable dispersion the stir
casting method is used. The solidification of the melt containing suspended SiC particles is done
under selected conditions to obtain the desired distribution.
Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 4

From the past review, it is found that the number of research work on wear behaviour of
MMCs have been published, but only few work related to the influence of weight fraction on
mechanical properties like tensile strength, hardness, impact strength, percentage of elongation
etc. have been reported. In this study, different weight fractions of Silicon Carbide particulates
are added with aluminium matrix to fabricate the Al/SiC metal matrix composites. Different
samples have been fabricated by melt-stirring casting and their microstructure, hardness, tensile
strength, and impact strength are studied. In this study the influences of the reinforced particulate
size weight fraction on mechanical properties like Proportionality (MPa) limit, Tensile strength
upper yield point (MPa), Tensile strength lower yield point (MPa), Ultimate tensile strength
(MPa), Breaking strength (MPa), % Elongation, % Reduction in area, Hardness (HRB), Impact
Strength (N.m) are investigated











Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 5

Literature survey:
(a)microstructure: Optical micrographs showed reasonably uniform distribution of SiC particles
and this is good agreement with earlier work. Homogenous dispersion of SiC particles in the Al
matrix shows an increasing trend in the samples prepared by applying stirring casting technique.
b)Tensile Strength: From the result graphs Proportionality (MPa) limit, Tensile strength upper
yield point (MPa), Tensile strength lower yield point (MPa), Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) and
Breaking strength (MPa) increases with the increase in reinforced particulate size(220 mesh, 300
mesh, 400 mesh) and weight fraction (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%) of SiC particles. % Elongation and
% Reduction in area decreases with the increase in reinforced particulate size (220 mesh, 300
meshes, 400 mesh) and weight fraction (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%) of SiC particles.
(c) Hardness (HRB) and Density (gm/cc) increases with the increase in reinforced particulate
size(220 mesh, 300 mesh, 400 mesh) and weight fraction (5%,10% ,15%, 20%) of SiC particles.
Maximum Hardness (HRB) = 83 and Maximum Density (gm/cc) = 2.852 gm/cc has been
obtained at 20 % weight fraction of 220 mesh size of SiC particles.
(d) Impact Strength (N.m) decreases with the increase in reinforced particulate size(220 mesh,
300 mesh, 400 mesh) and increases with the increase in weight fraction( 5%,10%,15%,20%) of
SiC particles. Maximum Impact Strength = 37.01 N-m has been obtained at 20 % weight fraction
of 400 mesh size of SiC particles.






Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 6

Aim:
To use metal matrix composites in railway chassis to improve its mechanical properties,
corrosion resistance and fire resistance.
Methodology:
Methods of preparation:
Solid state methods
powder metallurgy
Foil diffusion bonding
Liquid state methods
Electroplating / Electroforming
Stir casting
Squeeze casting
Spray deposition
Reactive processing
Vapour deposition
Physical vapour deposition
Of all the above methods we have opted for stir casting method as it is more economical
and costs less comparatively






Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 7

Stir casting:
The term stir- casting is the process of stirring molten metals are used for continuous
stirring particles into metal alloy to melt and immediately pour into sand mould then cooled and
allowed to solidify. In stir-casting, the particles are often tends to form agglomerates, which can
be only dissolved by vigorous stirring at high temperature.


Hand lay up method:
Hand Lay-Up (HLU) It is called the hand lay-up process, because the reinforcement is
placed manually,. In the early days, the wet lay-up process was the dominant fabrication method
for the making of composite parts. It is still widely used, especially for making prototype parts.
This process is labour intensive and has concerns for styrene emission because of its openmold
nature. The quality of the final part depends on the operator skill. It is a flexible process, using
different types of fabrics and mat material and mold design is simple, due to the room-
temperature cure and low pressure
Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 8

Materials:
Aluminium oxide:
is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula Al
2
O
3
. It is the
most commonly occurring of several aluminium oxides, and specifically identified
as aluminium(III) oxide. It is commonly called alumina, and may also be called aloxide, aloxite,
oralundum depending on particular forms or applications.
Properties
Molecular formula Al
2
O
3

Molar mass 101.96 g mol
1

Appearance white solid
Odor odorless
Density 3.954.1 g/cm
3

Melting point 2,072 C (3,762 F; 2,345 K)
[2]

Boiling point 2,977 C (5,391 F; 3,250 K)
[3]






Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 9

Chemical composition:
Element % Present
Manganese (Mn) 0.40 - 1.00
Iron (Fe) 0.40 Typical
Copper (Cu) 0.10 Typical
Magnesium (Mg) 4.00 - 4.90
Silicon (Si) 0.40 Typical
Zinc (Zn) 0.25 Typical
Chromium (Cr ) 0.05 - 0.25
Titanium (Ti) 0.15 Typical
Aluminium (Al) Balance

Key Silicon Carbide Properties
Low density
High strength
Low thermal expansion
High thermal conductivity
High hardness
High elastic modulus
Excellent thermal shock resistance
Superior chemical inertness

Boron Carbide:
Boron Carbide is one of the hardest materials known, ranking third behind diamond and cubic
boron nitride. It is the hardest material produced in tonnage quantities. Boron carbide powder
(see figure 1) is mainly produced by reacting carbon with B
2
O
3
in an electric arc furnace,
through carbothermal reduction or by gas phase reactions. For commercial use B
4
C powders
Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 10

usually need to be milled and purified to remove metallic impurities.
In common with other non-oxide materials boron carbide is difficult to sinter to full density, with
hot pressing or sinter HIP being required to achieve greater than 95% of theoretical density



Key Properties
Boron carbide is characterised by its:
Extreme hardness
Difficult to sinter to high relative densities without the use of sintering aids
Good chemical resistance
Good nuclear properties
Low density







Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 11

PROPERTIES:
Comparison between Aluminium and Steel:











Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 12

CONCLUSION:
The project was undertaken to introduce composite materials, their characteristics and
effect of defects on the mechanical properties of materials. The uniqueness of composite
materials and their responses to various loading and defect conditions were key features of this
endeavor. The experience in calibrating a tester was bonus learning , although it appeared
frustrating at the beginning. This project as the motivator for us. Mistakes were done and then
many things were learned in the areas of fabrication as well as testing.

















Experimental analysis on Aluminium 5 series of composite material

Dept of Mech Engineering, SDIT, Kenjar Page 13



REFERENCE:
1. Polmear I.J., Light alloys: metallurgy of the light metals, 3
rd
edition, 1995, Arnold,
London, ISBN 0-340-63207-0.
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fatigue crack growthmodelling of corrosion fatigue crack nucleation in a 2024-T3
aluminium alloy, Materials Science and Engineering A, Vol. 219, Issues 1-2,1996, p.126-
132.
3. A. F. Oliveira, Jr. , M. C. de Barros, K. R. Cardoso and D. N. Travessa, The effect of
RRA on the strength and SCC resistance on AA7050 and AA7150 aluminium alloys,
Materials Science and Engineering A, Vol. 379, Issues 1-2, 2004, p. 321-326.
4. A. Yawny, G. Kaustrter, B. Skrotzki and G. Eggeler, On the influence of fibre texture on
the compression creep behaviour of a short fibre reinforced aluminium alloy, Scripta
Materialia, Vol. 46, Issue 12, 2002, p. 837-842.
5. The drilling of Al/SiCp metalmatrix composites. Part II: work piece surface integrity
Gul Tosun, Mehtap Muratoglu Department of Metallurgy and Material Engineering,
Engineering Faculty, Firat University, 23119 Elazig, Turkey.
6. Microstructure and the development of fatigue cracks at notches W.J. Evans * IRC in
Materials for High Performance Applications, Uni6ersity of Wales Swansea, Singleton
Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
7. IMPACT TOUGHNESS OF SHIP STEELS AND ESTIMATION OF THEIR
SUSCEPTIBILITY TO BRITTLE FRACTURE S. A. Kotrechko, t Yu. Ya. Meshkov, t
D. I. Nikonenko, I R. V. Televich, t and E. I. Yakushechkin t 1hi 39. ,\,~ 3 4. IVU7.