The effects of adding silicon carbide SiCp on aluminum alloy and analyzing the fatigue parameters and mechanical properties for metal matrix composites

Abstract

The low cycle fatigue (LCF) resistance of two different metal matrix composite (MMC) of AA6063 with 2% and 8% by volume silicon carbide (SiCp) particles having particulate size of 37 micron (400 mesh) at room temperature condition has been evaluated under fully reversed strain control testing. The influence of volume fraction (2 and 8 vol%) and strain ratio (R= -1) are examined. Increasing the content of SiCp results in the degradation of strain control fatigue properties while the transition fatigue life increases. Fatigued samples are examined using scanning electron microscopy in order to understand the failure mechanism (SEM). Microstructural features and failure mechanisms studied through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed low cycle fatigue failure nature.