Characterization of Mechanical

and Thermal Properties in Soda–Lime

Glass Particulate Reinforced LM6 Alloy
Composites

M. R. Shivakumar and N. V. R. Naidu

Abstract LM6 alloy matrix and soda–lime glass particulate composites were
produced by stir casting method. Nine sets of composites with the combinations of
1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 weight per cent of glass particles and 75, 125 and 210 lm glass
particle size were developed as test composites. The result showed that, soda–lime
glass particles were uniformly distributed and properly wetted with LM6 alloy
matrix. Tensile strength of the composites were decreased as the weight per cent
and size of the glass particles increases. Hardness increases as the weight per cent
and size of the glass particles increases. Wear resistance was improved by
increasing the weight per cent of particle. Thermal conductivity of the composites
decreased with increase of weight per cent and size of the glass particles.

Keywords Stir casting Aluminium matrix composite
Glass reinforcement
Mechanical and thermal properties

1 Introduction

The nature and characteristics of the reinforcement and the production methodology
of composite preparation determines the properties of that composite to a large
extent. The properties of composites are controlled by varying the quantity and
parameters of reinforcement. Processing cost of composite is moderately higher as
compared to the other material processing methods. Aerospace, automobile and
electronic packaging areas required specific materials for effective and efficient
performance during their usage [1, 2]. The composites are the materials for the
critical areas like defence and aerospace, etc., where cost is secondary [3, 4].
Aluminium Matrix Composites (AMCs) are proven as successful ‘high-tech’
materials in their applications and have economic and environmental benefits [5–7].

M. R. Shivakumar (&)
N. V. R. Naidu

Department of Industrial Engineering and Management,
M. S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India
e-mail: mrshivakumar@msrit.edu

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 149

A. K. Lakshminarayanan et al. (eds.), Advances in Materials and Metallurgy,
Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1780-4_16
150 M. R. Shivakumar and N.V.R. Naidu

Usually, particulate reinforcement ceramics such as silicon carbide and alumina are
used in AMC. Reinforcement material is expensive and contributes to the cost of
AMCs. Low-cost reinforcement materials such as fly ash are usually used to reduce
the cost of AMCs. Glass is abundantly available at low price which can also be used
as reinforcement material [8].

2 Materials and Methodology

Aluminium with 11.6% silicon alloy (commercially known as LM6 alloy) is the
most widely used aluminium cast alloy and having lowest melting point was
selected as the matrix material. Soda–lime glass (window glass) powder was used
as reinforcement material in the composite preparation. The crushed glass powder
was sieved and separated using a series of sieves to obtain the required grain size. In
this investigation, stir casting production method was used to produce LM6 alloy/
soda–lime glass particulate composites [9, 10].
The reinforcement particles are usually very poor in getting wetted by a liquid
metal. Further, wetting of ceramic particles by molten metal below 1100 °C is poor.
If the wettability is inadequate, incorporation of reinforcement becomes incomplete
and resulting composite will have less reinforcement than what was intended.
A strong interface leads to transfer and distribution of load to the reinforcement
from the matrix and promotes enhanced properties of the Metal Matrix Composites
(MMCs). To enhance the wettability between glass particles and LM6 alloy
pre-treatment of the glass particles [11], addition of very small amount of mag-
nesium to the melt [12] and two-step stir mixing [13–15] techniques were adopted.

3 AMC Test Castings

The methodology of composite production was optimized and maintained same

throughout the trial composites by varying glass parameters. The processing
parameters such as superheat temperature of melt, pouring temperature, die tem-
perature, preheat temperature of soda–lime glass, amount of magnesium added (as
wetting agent), stirring time, stirring speed and processing methodology were kept
constant for all the trials. Nine sets of composites with the combinations of 1.5, 3.0
and 4.5 weight per cent of glass particles and 75, 125 and 210 lm glass particle size
were developed as test composites.
Characterization of Mechanical and Thermal Properties … 151

4 Testing and Results

4.1 Microstructural Analysis

The objective of the microstructural study is to gather information on the quality of

the developed composites for interfacial characteristics, bonding and wettability of
glass particles with the LM6 alloy matrix and also to analyse the distribution of
glass particles in the LM6 alloy matrix [16]. In this investigation,
computer-interfaced ZEISS optical microscope and Scanning Electron Microscope
(SEM) FEI-QUANTA 200 High-resolution electron microscopy were used. Test
samples were drawn from test castings in the as-cast condition.
Figure 1 justifies the successful production of MMCs and the good wettability of
the 4.5 wt% glass with LM6 alloy and exhibits occurrence of no reaction between
soda–lime glass and LM6 alloy. Figure 2 shows the distribution of 75 lm size glass
particles [(a) 4.5 wt% glass, (b) 3 wt% glass and (c) 1.5 wt% glass] in LM6 matrix.

4.2 Tension Test

Tensile test specimens were machined out of the as-cast composite test castings as
per the ASTM standard (Designation: E 8/E 8 M—08). The test specimens are
shown in Fig. 3.
Tensile tests for three test samples corresponding to different glass particulate
sizes and weight contents were conducted results shown in Fig. 3. Figure 4 shows
that the increase in addition of glass particles decreases the Ultimate Tensile
Strength (UTS) of the composite. Further, as the particle becomes coarser, the

Fig. 1 SEM micrographs of 75 lm particle size and 4.5 wt% glass composites
152 M. R. Shivakumar and N.V.R. Naidu

Fig. 2 Optical graphs of composites with varied weight per cent of glass particles a 4.5 wt%, b 3
wt%, c 1.5 wt%

Fig. 3 Test specimens as per

the ASTM standard
(Designation: E 8/E 8 M—
08)
Characterization of Mechanical and Thermal Properties … 153

1.5 Wt% 3 Wt% 4.5 Wt%

190
170
UTS in MPa 150
130
110
90
70
50
50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225
Glass parƟcle size in micron

Fig. 4 Mean UTS at different weight per cent and size of glass particles

tensile strength comes down. The UTS at 1.5 wt% and 75 lm was 175.567 MPa
and at 4.5 wt% to 210 lm 90.213 MPa.
The difference in thermal expansion values between the LM6 alloy and the
soda–lime particles are the main reasons for the thermal mismatch. This leads to the
development of elastic stresses, which in turn force the soda–lime glass particles
into compression and the LM6 alloy matrix into tension. Material properties are
naturally affected by residual stress, and even the values of fracture toughness will
be affected. Finally, the composites become more brittle due to these residual
stresses.
Increase in the amount of closed pores in composites with increasing amount of
soda–lime glass particles which would generate more sites for crack initiation.
When the particle size increases, each particle is like a clustering of glass particles,
which may result in formation and propagation of cracks. The combination of
bigger particle size and de-bonding at the interface between particles and matrix,
lead to significant drop in the strength of the composite.

4.3 Hardness Test

Brinell hardness test was conducted on the developed composites. The Brinell
hardness tester with a 10 mm diameter of hardened steel ball indenter was used for
the tests. The load applied was 500 kgf for duration of 30 s.
Figure 5 shows the hardness of composites with the variations of glass particle
size at 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5% weight fractions of glass. The hardness of composites at
1.5%, 75 lm and 4.5%, 210 lm are 50 BHN and 84.3 BHN, respectively. One can
observe that the addition of glass powder into the LM6 alloy matrix invariably
increases the hardness. Higher value of hardness is mainly due to the positive
contribution of the hard glass particles on the soft LM6 alloy matrix. Similar trend
is observed with increase in particulate size. Bigger particulates offer higher
154 M. R. Shivakumar and N.V.R. Naidu

Fig. 5 Variation of hardness with glass particle size

resistance to penetration on the surface, thereby enhancing the hardness. The par-
ticle size of reinforcing glass powder contributes to enhance hardness of the
composites.

4.4 Wear Test

Samples of LM6 alloy/Soda–lime glass composites were tested using the

pin-on-disc apparatus to check the effect of glass reinforcement on wear resistance.
Wear test samples (8 mm diameter and 50 mm length) are shown in Fig. 6. During
testing, sliding distance and sliding speeds were maintained constant in all the
experimental runs. Tests were carried out at a sliding speed of 7 m/s and for a
sliding distance of 2100 m at 10 N load to determine weight loss.
Figure 7 shows the effect of reinforcement content and particle size on the
weight loss in wear. The wear resistance increases (decrease in weight loss) as the
wt% of reinforcement increases; and wear resistance decreases as the particle sizes
increases. The weight loss, 0.004 g, is minimum at 4.5%, 75 lm, i.e. the wear
resistance is maximum. This is due to the hard glass particles in the composites.

Fig. 6 Specimens used in

wear test
Characterization of Mechanical and Thermal Properties … 155

1.5 Wt% 3 Wt% 4.5 Wt%

0.006

Weight loss in gram 0.005

0.004

0.003

0.002

0.001

0
50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225
Glass particle size in micron

Fig. 7 Variation of wear weight loss with the particle size at different weight fractions of glass

4.5 Thermal Conductivity Test

The well-proven comparative cut bar method, ASTM E1225 Test Method, was
used for carrying out the tests; this method has been acclaimed as the best-suited
method in axial thermal conductivity tests. Cylindrical specimens were used as per
the dimensions of reference specimens of thermal conductivity analyzer. The
dimension of the test specimen is 8 mm in diameter and 50 mm in length.
Figure 8 reveals that the thermal conductivity of composite depends on wt% and
particle size of reinforcement. The thermal conductivity decreases as the wt% of
reinforcement increases and it decreases as the particle sizes increases. At 1.5 wt%
and 75 lm, thermal conductivity is 113.267 W/m °C and at 4.5 wt% and 75 lm, is
95.533 W/m °C. This shows the reduction in thermal conductivity by 15.6%.
Thermal conductivity at 1.5 wt%, 75 lm it is 113.267 W/m °C and at 1.5 wt%,
210 lm are 113.267 and 108.033 W/m °C.

1.5 Wt% 3 Wt% 4.5 Wt%

120
Thermalconductivity in W/m oC

115

110

105

100

95

90

85

80
50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225
Glass particle size in micron

Fig. 8 Variation of thermal conductivity with the particle size at different weight fractions of glass
156 M. R. Shivakumar and N.V.R. Naidu

The reinforced glass has lower thermal conductivity than the LM6 alloy matrix,
so thermal conductivity decreases as the glass percentage increases in the com-
posite. It is also observed that the higher particle size glass develops more block-
ages to the heat flow than the smaller glass particle size in the composite.

5 Conclusions

The stir casting technique is an effective production method for LM6 alloy/glass
particulate composite. Better bonding and uniform distribution of glass particles
with LM6 alloy matrix are obtained by adopting suitable processing techniques.
Tensile tests indicate that the incorporation of soda–lime glass particles into the
LM6 alloy does not improve the tensile strength of the composite. Hardness and
wear resistance of the composites were improved by the addition of glass particles
with the LM6 alloy matrix. The addition of glass particles reduces the thermal
conductivity of the LM6alloy/glass composites.

Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank Prof. S. Seshan, Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore for his constant help and encouragement. Financial support received from Visvesvaraya
Technological University, Belagavi is gratefully acknowledged.

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