A review of microstructure, mechanical properties and wear behavior of hybrid aluminium matrix composites fabricated via stir casting route

Abstract

This article focuses on the mechanical and wear properties of the Al-based hybrid composites fabricated by stir casting route. A wide range of literature has been consulted in this regard and it has been revealed that processing conditions can be tailored to obtain homogeneous structure of the Al-composites. The addition of ceramic particles has been found to be essential to provide requisite strength and hardness to these composites. Also, use of agro/industrial waste materials such as fly ash, red mud and rice husk ash as a complementary reinforcement reduces the density of the hybrid composites without compromising the mechanical properties. The literature review also indicates that addition of soft reinforcements along with hard reinforcements reduces the brittleness of the hybrid composites. Moreover, the presence of solid lubricants like graphite significantly improves the wear resistance of these materials. It has been noticed that incorporation of solid lubricants also helps in the formation of a protective tribolayer at the interface thereby reducing the wear rate and plastic deformation of these composites. In overall, study concludes that Al-based hybrid composites have great promise to serve as a substitute to the ceramic reinforced composites and the unreinforced Al-alloys in various automotive applications requiring low cost, high strength-to-weight ratio and superior wear resistance.

Comparison between the Effect of Adding MSGNP and B4C-WC Nanoparticles on the Metallurgical and Mechanical Characterization of Al-7075 Composites Produced by Stir Casting

“…The reinforcing particle dispersion into the melted metal can be achieved via a vortex generated due to the stirring speed's effect, and it's also obvious that the stirring raises the wettability. Also, the stirring rate directly influences the flow pattern of melted metal flow [19]. The elevated-speed rotating mechanical stirrers or the ultrasonic stirrers can achieve active mechanical stirring for enhancing the wetting between the reinforcing particles and the melted metal, regarded as a critical parameter for the uniform distribution of reinforcement particle dispersion in the melted metal [20].…”

Artificial neural networks for predicting mechanical properties of Al2219-B4C-Gr composites with multireinforcements

“…8,9 Even with a small amount of ceramic reinforcements, the efficiency of Al composites can be significantly enhanced. 10 Incorporating ceramic particles into an aluminum matrix is gaining popularity because to its superior properties compared to unreinforced alloy. 11,12 As a replacement for aluminum alloys, ceramic-reinforced composites have gained popularity in recent decades due to their advantages.…”

Investigations on microstructure, hardness and tribological behaviour of AA7075-Al2O3 composites synthesized via stir casting route

“…Therefore, it is more important to manufacture a product economically and also with a homogeneous distribution of reinforcing particles to make the AMMCs isotropic. Stir casting is one of the promising techniques to achieve a homogeneous distribution of the particles and also found to be economical compared to the other fabrication techniques (Sakthivelu et al, 2018;Singh and Chauhan, 2019). The limitations of the stir casting process are slag formation and porosity due to high temperature involved.…”