Mechanical properties of Al-Cu alloy metal matrix composite reinforced with B4C, Graphite and Wear Rate Modeling by Taguchi Method

AA2017 with copper-rich and heat treatable alloy have comparatively good mechanical and wear properties, hence it is chosen as metal matrix material. B4C can improve wear resistance and Graphite (Gr) can act as solid lubricant to reduce the coefficient of friction. In this paper AA2017+ B4C+Gr Composites were fabricated with different wt. Percentage B4C and constant Graphite by using stir casting and thixoforming processes. The SEM analysis revealed the uniform dispersion of the particulate reinforcement B4C and Gr particles in the AA2017 metal matrix. The hardness of AA2017 alloy and composites was increased up to 31% from 87.3 VHN (base metal) to 114.5 VUN (Cast 5).The UTS value increased around 12.5% from 224MPa to 252MPa for the composite, with constant 1 % wt. Graphite and 0.5, 1 and 1.5 % wt. of B4C compare to base alloy. The compression value increased from 445 MPa to 689 MPa for the composite, with constant 1 % wt. Graphite and 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 % wt. of B4C compare to base alloy. In Taguchi analysis the signal to noise ratio shows that the increase of weight percent of reinforcement particle decrease the wear rate with applied load and sliding velocity. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.