Effect of Percentage Weight and Particle Size of SiCp Reinforcement on the Mechanical Behaviour of Functionally Graded Aluminum Metal Matrix Composite

Abstract

The fabrication of functionally graded aluminum metal matrix composite with varying properties using a centrifugal casting technique was carried out using silicon carbide particles (SiCp) of an average particle size of 15 µm as reinforcement. The effect of the SiCp reinforcements at different weight-percent on the hardness and tensile properties of A356 aluminum alloy was studied. The effect of particle size of the SiC reinforcement on the properties of the aluminum alloy was also investigated. It was observed that the hardness of the fabricated composite gradually increased from the center of the fabricated materials to their ends while the overall hardness of the samples increased as the weight-percent of the reinforcement addition increased. This observation also held true for the tensile properties of the materials. The property variations observed are attributed to the dispersion of the reinforcement within the aluminum matrix before solidification under centrifugal force action.

Investigation of the microstructure and thermo-mechanical properties of functionally graded materials fabricated by the vibrating centrifugal solid particle method

“…This result is in agreement with previous studies reported for FGMs processed by centrifugal casting. 9–11,21–23 The image analysis results depicted in Figures 5 and 6 show that with increasing rotational speed, the concentration of the SiC particles in the outer layers increased, and the volume fraction of SiC in the inner layers at high rotation speeds decreased to zero.…”

“…In the case of other mechanical and thermal properties, little experimental work has been done. The effect of SiC particle reinforcement on the strengthening of A359 Al alloys was studied experimentally by tensile testing specimens with different SiC contents by Rodrıa¨guez-Castro et al 21 and Owoputi et al 23 In another work by Aydın et al, 4 the Young's modulus (E) and YS for Al/ SiC FGMs has been investigated. The use of a vibration during the production of FGMs has not been studied.…”

Characterization of a functionally graded material produced using a new designed blender

“…Functionally Graded Materials are composites with a heterogeneous microstructure with mechanical properties changing smoothly and continuously from one side to other side. In other words, mechanical properties also change continuously through thickness according to the type of composition [2,3]. Ceramic/metal composites have found the widest application among FGMs.…”

“…Due to this smooth gradient of the change of the composition of the FGMs ingredients, they exhibit higher mechanical properties compared to the laminated composite materials. On the other hand, functionally graded materials exhibit different properties in different regions due to the gradual change of their composition, distribution, orientation, or size of the reinforcing phase in one or more directions, leading to continuous stress gradients and improved strength [3].…”

Preparation of functional thin films with elemental gradient by sputtering with mixed powder targets

“…gradient functional thin films, are used in many fields. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22] For example, it is difficult and expensive to machine effective cutting tools from a single hard material, such as diamond. The use of gradient functional thin films lowers the costs of such cutting tools by applying high-hardness thin films to the surface of an easily machinable material.…”