The increasing concern for sustainable materials and waste management has led to innovative approaches in material science. This study explores the potential benefit of aggregate waste in the production of aluminum composites practicing powder metallurgy techniques. The aim is to investigate the feasibility of incorporating bone material into aluminium matrices to enhance the composite’s mechanical properties. The research involves several key steps. Firstly, waste bone material is collected and processed to obtain a fine powder suitable for powder metallurgy. Various techniques such as grinding, milling, or pulverization are employed to achieve the desired particle size distribution. Next, the bone powder is mixed with aluminium powder in predetermined ratios to create composite blends. The composite blends are then subjected to compaction using powder metallurgy techniques, including cold pressing and sintering. The compaction process aims to consolidate the powders and facilitate the formation of a solid composite structure. The aluminum composites mechanical characteristics are then assessed. The effects of incorporating bone material are assessed using tests on tensile strength, ductility, hardness, and other relevant mechanical properties. Comparative analysis is performed between the composites with bone material and traditional aluminium composites to assess any improvements or changes in performance.
Al6061 alloy is most commonly used in automotive, marine, and aerospace applications to lighten the composite and increase its strength. Al6061 alloy is a precipitation-hardened aluminum alloy used as a matrix material. Beef bone is a biowaste that has polluted the environment and the people who live in the vicinity of its manufacturing and disposal sites. Biowaste has been used in a variety of ways by researchers in recent years, including activated carbon, water purification, reinforcement in composites, fillers, additives, etc. Beef bones that had been abandoned as waste were collected, cleaned, and grounded into a fine powder with a particle size of 50–100 nm and used as reinforcement. Squeeze casting process is used to create the newly created aluminum composite (Al6061 + 0%, 5%, 10% of bone powder). The aluminum composite was fabricated and three samples were successfully obtained for further testing and analysis. The prepared Al composites with nanopowder reinforcement are analyzed for surface morphology, elemental identification, hardness, porosity, tensile strength, and compression strength. The percentage of porosity in the composite is improved by 36.7% when compared to the Al6061 alloy. Similarly, the tensile strength of the produced composite is increased to 5.59%. A significant improvement is observed in the wear resistance and hardness of the composite as 54.55% and 48.65%, respectively.
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