Publication

Abstract : Aluminum metal matrix composites (Al-MMCs) have amazing properties like elevated resistance to wear and erosion, better strength-to-weight ratio, lower cost, and could be used in land, sea, and space applications. Al could be reinforced with ceramic dispersions to improve mechanical, physical, and tribo-properties. The most used dispersions are silicon carbide, alumina, and boron carbide. All the reinforcements used have their own effect on the properties of prepared MMCs. The Al6061-B4C MMCs were manufactured by stir casting technique. The microstructure observation confirms the distribution of reinforcement in the matrix alloy. The uniqueness of different reinforcements and their effect on tribo-properties have been elaborated in the article. The tribo-property of Al-B4C has been examined and scanning electron micrograph is observed to comment on the change in the resistance to wear with increase in the addition of particulate into Al metal matrix. It is observed that the resistance to wear has improved with the addition of filler material. The load and sliding distance have been kept same for both the compositions. The compositions of Al-B4C MMCs are 2 and 3 weight (wt.) %. The improvement in resistance to wear further confirms the utility of Al-B4C MMCs for suitable engineering applications. The processing technique used to manufacture the Al-B4C MMCs is stir casting. The successful manufacturing of MMCs with B4C as a reinforcement further confirms the suitability of process used to synthesize.