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Chicken eggshell (ES) is an aviculture byproduct that has been used as the reinforcement in the present study which is recorded worldwide as one of the vilest environmental problems. The present work deals with development of ES-reinforced Al6061 matrix composites by stir-casting process with 0 to 10 wt% of reinforcement at an interval of 2 wt%. The microstructures of the fabricated composites were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopes with energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM/EDS). Optical micrographs divulge the uniform distribution of reinforcing particles in the matrix while X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns ensure the dispersion of ES particles reinforcement in Al6061 matrix. The properties measured include density, tensile strength and hardness values. The tensile strength and hardness of composites increase with the addition of ES particles and the maximum values were achieved at 4 wt%. Further increase of ES particles in the matrix leads to decrease in hardness and strength owing to increase in porosity.

Considering the combination of the good physical-mechanical property of mussel shell (MS) and its bulk availability at low processing cost, in present work an attempt has been made to use it as reinforcing particulate material for fabricating Al6061/MS composite through stir casting route. The composite is fabricated with 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 weight percent (wt%) of mussel shell reinforcement. Microstructural characterization revealed the fair distribution of particles in the matrix. Fabricated matrix with 6 wt% mussel shell has shown the maximum hardness and wear resistance beyond that adverse effect has been quantified. Linear regression analysis helped in establishing the relationship between independent variables of load, sliding distance and reinforcement volume in wt% to calculate wear loss and wear rate. Analysis of variance helped to confirmed that incorporation of MS particulates significantly contributing to the improvement of the wear properties.

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