Effect of Volume Fraction (Al2O3) on Tensile Strength of Aluminium 6061 by Varying Stir Casting Furnace Parameters: A Review

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 04 Issue: 10 | Oct -2017 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072
© 2017, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 6.171 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 1351
Effect of volume fraction (Al2O3) on tensile strength of Aluminium 6061
by varying stir casting furnace parameters: A Review
Yogesh Prabhavalkar1, Prof.Dr.A.N.Chapgaon 2
1M.E. Student, Ashokrao Mane Group of Institution Vathar-416112, Maharashtra, India
2Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ashokrao Mane Group of Institution Vathar-416112,
Maharashtra, India
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Abstract - Aluminium metal matrix composites (AMMCs) are potential materials for various applications due to their good
physical and mechanical properties. The addition of reinforcements intoitimprovesthestiffness, specificstrength, wear, creepand
fatigue properties compared to the conventional engineering materials and It was revealedthataluminiumwithreinforcementof
Al2O3 composites have a higher tensile strength than 6061aluminiumalloywithreduced ductility. Fabricationofthis metalmatrix
is done by stir casting technique which is one of the prominent and economical techniques for development and processing of the
same. It has been found that with the increase in weight percentage of reinforcement particles in the aluminium metalmatrix, the
new material exhibits lower wear rate against abrasive wearing. This article is just an assessment of effect of reinforcement
(Al2O3)on AMC’s mechanical properties with various process parameters of stir casting process, such as stirrer design and it’s
speed, stirring temperature, stirring time (holding time) and concentration of Al2O3 .
Keywords - Aluminum metal matrix composites, Stir casting process,6061Aluminiumalloy;Al2O3 composites;Tensile
strength.
1. INTRODUCTION:
Metal matrix composites are metals reinforced with other metal, ceramic or organic compounds. Theyaremadeby dispersing
the reinforcements in the base metal matrix. Reinforcements are usually used to improve the properties of the base metal like
strength, stiffness, conductivity, etc. Aluminium MMCs are broadly used in aircraft, aerospace, automobiles and various other
fields. The most commonly applied reinforcements are Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Aluminium Oxide (Al2O3). SiC reinforcement
increases the tensile strength, hardness, density and wear resistance of Aluminium and its alloys. The particle distribution
plays an important role in the properties of the Al MMC and is improved by intensive shearing. Al2O3 reinforcement has good
compressive strength and wear resistance ability.
Why Alluminium based MMC?
MMCs have certain important mechanical properties, namely higher transverse strength and stiffness, higher shear and
compressive strengths and good high temperature capabilities. MMC reinforcements can be mainly divided into five major
categories: continuous fibres, discontinuous fibres, whiskers, wires and particulate (including platelets). With exception of
wires, same are metals, reinforcements are generally ceramics. These ceramics are oxides, carbides and nitrides which are
used because of their excellent combinations of specific strength and stiffness at both ambient temperature and increased
temperature.
Stir Casting:
Stir casting is a liquid state method of composite materials fabrication, in which scattered phase (ceramic particles, short
fibers) is mixed with a molten metal by means of mechanical stirring. The liquid composite material is then cast by usual
casting methods and may also be processed by conventional Metal forming technologies. In preparation of metal matrix
composites by stir casting technique, some of determinants that needs considerable attention are as follows,
 To obtain uniform dispersion of the reinforcement material,
 To achieve binding between the two main substances,
 To minimize porosity in the cast metal matrix composite.

Process Parameters:
A) Stirrer Speed:
Stirring speed is an important parameter which promotes binding between matrix and reinforcement i.e. wettability. Stirring
speed decides formation of vortex which is responsible for dispersion of particulates in liquid metal.
B) Stirring Time:
As stirring promote uniform distribution of reinforcement partials and interface bond between matrix and reinforcement,
stirring time plays an essential role in stir casting method. Stirring should be optimum because less stirring leads to non-
uniform distribution of particles and excess stirring forms clustering of particles at some places.
C) Concentration of Al2O3 :
The properties like hardness and impact strength increases with Al2O3 and SiC. The change in these propertiesismoderatefor
10 percent addition of alumina and silicon-carbide and marginal changes with 15 and 20 percent. Addition of alumina and
silicon-carbide improves the tensile strength of composites.
D) Reinforced Feed Rate:
Non-uniform feed rate promotes clustering of particles at some places which causes the porosity and inclusion defect, so to
obtain a good quality of casting the feed rate of powder particles of reinforcement material should be steady.
E) Stirrer Design:
It is very important parameter in stir casting process which is required for vortex formation. The blade angle and quantity of
blades decides the pattern of flow the liquid metal. The stirrer is immersed till two third depth of molten metal. All these are
required for uniform distribution of reinforcement in liquid metal,properinterface bondingandtopreventclustering.Asthere
are many parameters such as preheat temperature of mould and reinforcement, pouring of melt which are needed to be
concentrate.
EXPERIMENTAL SETUP:
Fig-1 Stir casting apparatus

2. LITERATURE REVIEWS:
B.Vijaya Ramnath,C. Elanchezhian, RM. Annamalai, S. Arvind, [1]“Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites – A Review”
Due to their good physical and mechanical properties,Aluminiummatrixcomposites(AMCs)arepotential materialsforvarious
applications. The addition of reinforcements into them improves the stiffness, specific strength, wear, creep and fatigue
properties compared to the conventional engineering materials. This paper presents the overview of the effect of addition of
different reinforcements in aluminium alloy highlighting their advantages and disadvantages.Majorissueslikeagglomerating
phenomenon, bonding of fiber-matrix and the problems related to dispersion of particles are discussed in this paper. Effect of
various reinforcements on AMCs on the mechanical properties like tensile strength, strain, hardness, wear and fatigue is also
discussed. Some of the important applications of various AMCs are also given in this work.
Madeva Nagaral.et al. [2] “Effect of Al2O3 particles on Mechanical and wear properties of” Al alloy metal matrix
composites”
Researcher’s attempts were carried out at Particulate reinforced aluminium matrix composites are being consideredfortheir
surpassing mechanical and tribological properties over the conventional aluminium alloys, and therefore, these composites
have gained extensive applications in automotive and aerospace industries. In this investigation, the fabrication of 6061Al
composites with different weight percentage of Al2O3 particles up to 0-9% was processedbyliquidmetallurgyroute.Foreach
composite, reinforcement particles were preheated to a temperature of 200°C and then dispersed in steps of three into the
vortex of molten 6061Al alloy rather than introducing all at once, there by trying to improve wettability and distribution.
Microstructural characterization was carried out for the above prepared compositesbytakingspecimensfromcentral portion
of the casting. Microstructural characterizationofthecompositeshasexhibitedfairlyuniformdistributionofAl2O3 particulates.
XRD analysis revealed the presence of Al2O3 and other phases. The tensile strength and hardness of the resultant composites
were examined. It was revealed that the 6061Al- Al2O3 composites have a higher tensile strength than 6061 aluminium alloy
with reduced ductility. It was found that an increase in the Al2O3 contentin6061Al alloycontributedin enhancingthehardness
of the composites. The wear test was conducted using computerized pin on disc weartesterwithcountersurfaceasEN31steel
disc (HRC60).
Khalid Almadhoni, et al. [3] “Review of Effective Parameters of Stir Casting Process on Metallurgical Properties of
Ceramics Particulate Al Composites”
The low density, environment resistance and adequatemechanical andphysical propertiesofaluminiummetal matrix
composites (AMMC’s) make them one of the most interesting material alternativesforthemanufactureoflightweightpartsfor
many types of modern engineering equipments. Fabrication of aluminum and it’s alloys based casting composite materialsby
stir casting is one of the prominent and economical technique for development and processing of metal matrix composites
materials. The major challenges of this technique are to achieve sufficient wetting of particles by liquid metal, to get a
homogeneous mixture of ceramic particles and to reduce porosity in the cast metal matrix composite. This article is just a
review of stir casting for production of aluminummetal matrixcomposites,differentprocessparametersofstircastingprocess,
such as design of stirrer, stirrer speed, stirring temperature, stirring time, preheat temperature of reinforcement and mould,
reinforcement feed rate, wettability-promotingagentand pouringofmelt,anddifficultiesencounteredinsuccessful fabrication
of AMMC’s by stir casting technique.
T. Mohan. et al. [4] “Experimental Investigation OfTensileandImpactBehavior OfAluminiumMetalMatrixComposite
For Turbocharger”
In this study, recent developments in material technology help to find and fabricatenewmaterialswhichmaytake theplaceof
existing materials for various applications. Among those, composite materials play an important role which is combination of
two or more materials with distinct physical and chemical properties. This work focuses on developing an Aluminium metal
matrix composite (AMMC) material for turbocharger components made by wrought aluminium alloy with different weight
fractions of aluminium oxide which makes five different forms of composites. This work uses stir casting process. The
fabricated composites are tested for their tensile and impact properties. The result shows that composite with higher
percentage of aluminium oxide has high tensile strength than other composites.

D. Sujan, Et . al [5] “Physio-mechanical Properties of Aluminium MetalMatrix Composites Reinforced with Al2O3and
SiC”
Particulate reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) are potential materials for various applicationsduetotheir beneficial
physical and mechanical properties. This paper presents a study on the performance of stircastAl2O3 andSiCreinforcedmetal
matrix composite materials. The results shows that the composite materials exhibit improved physical as well as mechanical
properties, such as, low coefficient of thermal expansion, high ultimate tensile strength, high impact strength,and hardness.It
has been found that with the increase in weight percentage of reinforcement particles in the aluminium metal matrix,thenew
material exhibits lower wear rate against abrasive wearing. Being extremely lighter than the conventional gray cast iron
material, theAl-Al2O3 and Al-SiC composites could be potential green materials for various applications in the automobile
industry, for instance, in making car disc brake rotors.
Ajit Kumar Senapati. Et al. [6] “Experimental Study on Mechanical Properties of Aluminium Alloy Reinforced With
Silicon Carbide and Fly Ash, Hybrid Metal Matrix Composites”
Aluminium based metal matrix composites (MMCS) are advanced materials, which are having the properties of high specific
strength and modulus, greater resistance, high elevated temperatureand lowthermal expansioncoefficient. Thesecomposites
are widely used in industries like aerospace, defense, automobile. The composites are fabricatedusingstircastingprocessand
mechanical and metallurgical properties of aluminum alloy LM6 metal matrix composite areinvestigated.Thecompositeexist
of aluminum alloy LM6 reinforced with silicon carbide and fly ashaccordingly.Mechanical propertiessuchastensile,hardness,
and compression test of the sample are measured. The results of the research work reveals that the proposed hybrid
composites are compared with Al-Si Alloy based metal matrix composites at corresponding values of test parameters.
Mr. Ravindra Mamgain. Et. al [7] “Effect of Volume fraction (Al2O3+SiC)p on the Mechanical properties of Al (6061)
Hybrid Metal Matrix Composite”
The present work deals with the Effect of Volume fraction (Al2O3+SiC)onthemechanical propertiesofAl (6061).Hybrid metal
matrix composite using aluminum alloy Al 6061 as matrix and alumina, silicon-carbide as a reinforcing material prepared by
using stir casting process. The alumina and silicon-carbide amounts varied as 10, 15, and 20 percent by volume. The
mechanical properties like hardness, tensile strength, and impact strength have been investigated. On addition by volume
percent of alumina and silicon-carbide, the effect on mechanical properties has been examined. The properties like hardness
and impact strength increases with Al2O3 and SiC. The change in these properties is moderate for 10 percent addition of
alumina and silicon-carbide and marginal changes with 15 and 20 percent. Addition of alumina and silicon carbide increases
tensile strength of composite.
Chennakesava Reddy.et al. [8] “Tensile Behaviour Of 6063/ Al2O3 particulatemetal matrix composites fabricated by
investment casting process”
The use of investment casting process has been studied to prepare Al6063/ Al2O3 metal matrix composites. The tensile
properties have been investigated. The EDS report confirms the presence of Al5Cu2Mg8Si6, Al4CuMg5Si4 and Mg2Si
compounds in the 6063/ Al2O3composites. The yield strength and fracture strength increaseswithincreaseinvolumefraction
of Al2O3, whereas ductility decreases. The ductile fracture is observed in 10% volume fraction composite and the brittle
fracture is observed in 20% and 30% volume fraction composites.
3. CONCLUSION:
It has been found from literature reviews, that aluminium based metal matrix composites have been successfully fabricated
using stir casting method by three step addition of reinforcement combined with preheatingofparticulatesandthe increasein
volume fraction of Al2O3 which decreases the fracture toughness of the aluminium metal matrixcomposites( AMMC).Al2O3 SiC
reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites by using stir casting technique exhibits improved physical and mechanical
properties, such as, low coefficient of thermal expansion, high ultimate tensile strength, high impact strength, and hardness.
Strength of prepared composites both tensile and yield was higher,incaseofcomposites,whileductilityofcompositeswasless
when compared to as cast 6061Al. Further, with increasing wt% of Al2O3 shows improvements in tensile strength. Stir casting
process is cost effective and conventional routeformanufacturingofcompositematerial.Processingtemperature,holdingtime
influences on the viscosity of liquid metal and particles distribution, also induces some chemical reaction between matrixand
reinforcements. Speed as well as design of the stirrer blade and preheating processes are also the important factors to be
considered in the production of cast aluminium metal matrix composites’s,asthesehaveanimpacton qualityandpropertiesof
casting.

REFERENCES:
[1]. B. Vijaya Ramnath, C. Elanchezhian, RM. Annamalai, S.Aravind,“AluminiumMetal MatrixComposites -AReview”,Rev.Adv.
Mater. Sci. 38 (2014) 55-60 October 19, 2013
[2]. Madeva Nagaral, Bharath V and V Auradi “Effect ofAl2O3 ParticlesonMechanical andWearPropertiesof6061al AlloyMetal
Matrix Composites”, Research article Material Science & Engineering, ISSN: 2169-0022 JME, Volume 2 Issue 1
[3]. Khalid Almadhoni, “Review of Effective Parameters of Stir Casting Process on Metallurgical Properties of Ceramics
Particulate Al Composites”, IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE) e-ISSN: 2278-1684,p-ISSN: 2320-
334X, Volume 12, Issue 6 Ver. IV (Nov. - Dec. 2015), PP 22-40
[4].T. Mohan and N. Manoharan, “Experimental Investigation of Tensile and Impact Behaviour of Aluminium Metal Matrix
Composite for Turbocharger”, ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences,VOL.10,NO.13,JULY2015,ISSN 1819-6608
[5] .D. Sujan, Z. Oo, M. E. Rahman, M. A. Maleque, C. K. Tan, “Physio-mechanical Properties of Aluminium Metal Matrix
Composites Reinforced with Al2O3 and SiC”, International Journal of Chemical, Molecular, Nuclear, MaterialsandMetallurgical
Engineering Vol:6, No:8
[6]. Ajit Kumar Senapati, Gopal Krushna Mohanta, “Experimental Study On Mechanical Properties Of Aluminium Alloy
Reinforced With Silicon Carbide And Fly Ash, Hybrid Metal Matrix Composites”, 3rd international Conference on Recent
Innovations in Science Engineering and Management, ICRISEM-16, ISBN-978-81-932074-1-3
[7]. Mr. Ravindra Mamgain, Dr. Alakesh Manna, Dr. K.K.S MER, Mr. Ashish Chauhan, “EffectofVolumefraction(Al2O3+SiC)pon
the Mechanical properties of Al (6061) Hybrid Metal Matrix Composite”, International Journal of Scientific & Engineering
Research, Volume 6, Issue 5, May-2015 ISSN 2229-5518
[8]. Chennakesava Reddy. A, Essa Zitoun, “Tensile behavior of 6063/Al2o3 particulate metal matrix composites fabricated by
investment casting process”, International Journal Of Applied Engineering Research, Dindigul Volume 1, No 3, 2010, ISSN
09764259

Effect of Volume Fraction (Al2O3) on Tensile Strength of Aluminium 6061 by Varying Stir Casting Furnace Parameters: A Review

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