The present investigation mainly concentrates on work done in order to explore physical, mechanical & tribological characteristics of Al6061 alloy reinforced with nano-sized zirconium dioxide particulates. Four casts of different percentages of reinforcement from 0 to 6 wt% in the steps of 2 are fabricated using liquid metallurgy technique (stir casting). The prepared composites later subjected to various physical, mechanical & wear tests and results were studied. The tests were carried out in accordance with the ASTM standards on the alloy and nano-composites. In the present investigation the physical and mechanical properties like density, hardness and tensile strength increased significantly with the increase in percentage of reinforcement in the matrix alloy, while the percentage elongation found to be decreased. The sliding wear tests were performed by using pin-on-disc the tribometer and results indicated that wear resistance of composites was higher. Off the four compositions, there were improved properties of composites with higher weight percent of reinforcement. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs was used after tensile testing to study fractured surfaces of specimens and wear morphology after wear testing. Overall the investigational outcomes are very interesting and motivates to do further more research.
This paper presents the comparative study of the mechanical properties of Al6061-Tungsten carbide composites containing Tungsten carbide (WC) particulate, and Al6061-graphite particulate composites containing graphite particles. The reinforcing particulates in the MMCs vary from 0% to 4% by weight. The 'vortex method' of production was employed to fabricate the composites, in which the reinforcements were poured into the vortex created by stirring the molten metal by means of a mechanical agitator. The composites so produced were subjected to a series of tests. The results of this study revealed that as the Tungsten carbide particle content was increased, there were significant increases in the ultimate tensile strength, hardness and Young's modulus, accompanied by a reduction in its ductility. There was, however, only a very marginal increase in the compressive strength, where as in graphite reinforced composites as the graphite content was increased, there were significant reduction in hardness and monotonic increases in the ductility, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), compressive strength and Young's modulus of the composite, An attempt is made in the paper to provide explanations for these phenomena.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.