Evaluation of the Microstructural, Mechanical and Tribological Behaviour of Fly Ash Reinforced Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites

摘要

In the following work, low-cost and light-weight aluminium matrix composite has been fabricated and characterized. For it, Al has been taken as the matrix material and up to 15 wt% of fly-ash (FA, 0, 5, 10 and 15 %) particulate, which is low-cost, low-density and commonly availablehas been added as reinforcement. Hence, an economical composite based on utilization of fly ash has been processed through powder metallurgy for uniform distribution, consistent properties and high dimensional accuracy. The microstructural and phase identification study was carried by scanningelectron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Density measurement and hardness properties were carried out to identify the mechanical properties of the composites. The wear characteristic of the composite was studied by conducting sliding wear test on a pin-on-disc machine by varyingparameters like normal load, sliding distance, and track velocity. The worn surfaces were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. SEM supports the even distribution of reinforcement in the aluminium matrix. The hardness of the developed AMCs was enhanced by 10%–15% while the wearrate reduced by 15%–20%. The microscopic observations of worn surfaces show that the base matrix wears mainly due to micro-cutting and thermal softening while the AMCs wear as a result of delamination, micro cutting, oxidation and thermal softening.