Influence of Two Stage Stir Casting and 6 wt.% Boron Carbide Particulates Addition on Mechanical Characterization and Wear Behavior of Al2618 Alloy Composites

Abstract

In the current research the production of composites, characterization, mechanical and wear behavior of 6 wt. % of micro composites have been investigated by reinforcing the 63 micron B4C ceramic particulates into Al2618 alloy. The composites were prepared by using two stage stir casting technique containing Al2618 alloy as matrix phase and B4C particulates as reinforcement. After the composite preparation, the prepared composite material was examined by using various techniques like SEM, EDS and XRD for characterizing the chemical elements and microstructures of reinforced and unreinforced material. Later, the mechanical properties and wear behavior of as cast Al2618 alloy and Al2024 -6 wt. % 63 µm B4C composites were studied. Different mechanical properties like hardness, percentage elongation, ultimate and yield strength were evaluated as per the ASTM standards. The dry sliding wear tests were conducted by using pin on disc equipment. The experiments were conducted for the sliding distance of 3000 m by varying the sliding speed and load. From the investigation, it was found that due to addition of nano B4C ceramic particles in the Al2618 alloy matrix the hardness, ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of prepared composites by stir casting were increased and the percentage elongation was decreased of the same prepared composite. Further, there was an improvement in the wear resistance with respect to the speed, load, and sliding distance for the prepared composite materials. However, with the addition of B4C ceramic particulates in the base Al2618 matrix the wear loss was decreased. The scanning electron microscope was used to study and analyze the fractography and different wear mechanisms for various test conditions of different compositions, tensile fractured surfaces and the worned surfaces.