Evaluation of Wear Behaviour for Al/B4C/Fly Ash Composites by Stir Casting Process

Abstract

In this study, the wear behaviors of aluminum matrix composites Al 6082 matrix reinforced with Boron carbide and Fly ash particles using Taguchi method were evaluated. Wear tests of unreinforced aluminum alloy and Al/5%B4C and Al/5%Flyash particles reinforced composites were carried out. The stir casting method was used to manufacture the aluminum and its composites. The wear tests were carried out at the sliding speeds of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 m/s with loads of 15, 30, 45 N. Type of the material, Sliding speed, Applied load are the input parameters and Specific wear rate is the output parameter for the conditions tested. Taguchi technique was applied for optimizing the selected composites. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been used to determine the significance of design parameters influencing the response. The influence of these parameters on the response has been evaluated using Signal to Noise (SN) ratio analysis. The experimental results proposed optimal combination of parameters which give the minimum specific wear rate. The microstructure examination was also done using Scanning electron microscope to assess the uniform distribution of reinforcement in aluminum composites.