Effect of T6 Heat Treatment on Microstructure, Mechanical Properties and Abrasive Wear Response of Fly Ash Reinforced Al-Si Alloy

In the present investigation, an attempt has been made to examine the effect of T6 heat treatment on the microstructure, mechanical property and three body abrasive wear response of 10 wt% fly ash reinforced Al-Si Alloy (BS: LM2). The Composite was fabricated by dispersing fly ash particles of size 12-45 mu m into the matrix alloy using widely used stir casting. The resulting materials were heat treated at 495 degrees C for 8 hours, quenched in oil and aged at 175 degrees C and cooled in air. Both as cast and heat treated has been characterized in terms of microstructure, mechanical properties and three body abrasive wear behaviour. The abrasive used in this study is AFS 50/70 sand. The effects of test duration, applied load and wheel rotation speed on the wear behaviour have also been studied. To examine the influence of the fly ash particle dispersion, matrix alloy was also characterized under similar conditions. The composite exhibited less wear rate than the matrix alloy irrespective of the test conditions. This was attributed to the wear resistance offered by the hard dispersoid phase, thereby protecting the softer matrix. The wear rate of the samples decreased progressively with distance until a steady-state value was attained. Further, the rate of reduction in wear rate with distance was relatively more for the matrix alloy than the composite. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.