INFLUENCE OF REINFORCED PARTICLES ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF FABRICATED Al/(SiC/Gr)-METAL MATRIX COMPOSITE

Abstract

A composite is made from two or more different materials together. The materials that make up a composite do not dissolve in each other, they remain separate. Aluminium alloy (AA) 7075 is soft and light material mostly used metal matrix composite as it has high stiffness, low density and easy fabricate. AA-7075 is mostly used in aerospace applications due to its flexibility and light weight. It is also used in mold tool manufacture, biomedicals etc. AA-7075 is used as matrix material whereas graphite and silicon carbide are used as the reinforcement materials. Stir casting technique is used for the fabrication of composites in the present work. The factorial design is used to decide the number of samples to be fabricated by stir casting. The weight percent (wt.%) of graphite and silicon is decided based on the review literature. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis is used to characterize the AA-7075 metal matrix composite. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) is used to analyze the composition of the specimen fabricated. The mechanical behaviour is determined by hardness test, compression test and tensile test. The results obtained from experiments are analyzed by
using ANOVA in design expert.The maximum hardness is obtained 99 HV at 4 wt.% of SiC, similarly maximum tensile strength is recorded as 245 MPa at 4 wt.% of SiC. The maximum compressive strength of composite is recorded as 488 MPa at 4 wt.% of Gr with 4 wt.% of SiC