An experimental analysis of tensile, hardness and wear properties of aluminium metal matrix composite through stir casting process

Among several methods to fabricate Aluminium metal matrix composites, stir-casting technique is used for large-scale production due to its being less expensive. This research is concerned with the fabrication of Aluminium composites with SiC and Jute Ash Particles, for sake of producing a cost-effective composite with enhanced properties. Wear behaviour was studied using pin on disc tribometer and it was found that wear resistance increases with-addition of reinforcement particles. Fabricated composite samples showed almost 4 times better wear resistance compared to base material. Matrix metal reinforced with SiC showed the best wear resistance of all fabricated samples. Coefficient of friction significantly decreased with the presence of reinforcement due to formation of mechanical mixed layer. Tensile Strength was escalated with the introduction of reinforcement as load is transferred to strongly bonded reinforcement particles. Microhardness was enhanced with the introduction of reinforcement and Sample 2 with SiC as reinforcement showed the best microhardness. Microstructure and fractography of the base metal and fabricated composites was analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).