Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

Degree of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
By
Himanshu chauhan (Roll No.-1513340078)
Pankaj Yadav (Roll No.-1513340118)
Shashank Shekher Singh(Roll No.-1513340170)
Himanshu Bharti (Roll No.- 1513340077)
Under the supervision
of
Mr. Annant Dhawan

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Noida Institute of Engineering and Technology
Affiliated to
Dr. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW (U.P.)
 A metal matrix composite (MMC) is a composite in
which two or more reinforced materials are added to the
metal matrix in order to improve the properties of the
composite.
 A hybrid metal matrix composite (HMMC) consists of
three or more composites mixed with the matrix. Apart
from metal matrix composite, there is polymer matrix
composite (PMC) and ceramic matrix composite (CMC).
 In general, metal matrix is favored over polymer
matrices because of its ability to meet the engineering
demand.
 In the modern applied sciences, the concept of mixing
two dissimilar materials has gained much attention .
The combinations provide unique properties.
 The composite industry has begun to recognize
the commercial application of composites which
promise to offer much larger business
opportunities in aerospace and automotive sectors
. The most commonly used metal matrix is
aluminium, magnesium, titanium and their alloys.
 Aluminium metal matrix composites (AMMC) are
the composites in which aluminium is used as the
matrix and several reinforced materials are
embedded into the matrix. Some of the reinforced
materials are silicon carbide, graphite, fly ash,
particulate alumina, red mud, cow dung, rice husk
etc.
 In the modern applied sciences, the concept of mixing
two dissimilar materials has gained much attention . The
combinations provide unique properties.
 Stir casting technique is simple and the most commercial
method of production of metal matrix composites. In
preparing metal matrix composites by the stir casting method,
there are several factors that need to be considered including:
 Difficulty in uniform distribution of the reinforcement
material
 Wettability between the two main substances
 Porosity in the cast metal matrix composites, and
 Chemical reactions between the reinforcement material
and the matrix alloy.
 AMMC are in demand due to their properties like low
density, high specific strength, high damping capacity, high
thermal conductivity, high specific modulus, and high abrasion
and wear resistance , low density, good mechanical properties,
low thermal coefficient of expansion, better corrosion
resistance , high strength to weight ratio and high temperature
resistance etc.
 Aluminium metal matrix composite provides lesser wear
resistance when compared to steel and hence it is widely
used as a matrix metal. The AMMC can be manufactured
by various manufacturing techniques such as stir casting,
powder metallurgy, pressure infiltration, squeeze casting ,
chemical vapor deposition etc.
In conventional stir casting method, reinforced particulate is mixed
into the aluminium melt by mechanical stirring. Mechanical
stirring is the most important element of this process. After the
mechanical mixing, the molten metal is directly transferred to a
shaped mould prior to complete solidification. The essential thing
is to create the good wetting between particulate reinforcement and
aluminium melt. The distribution of the reinforcement in the final
solid depends on the wetting condition of the reinforcement with
the melt, relative density, rate of solidification etc. Distribution of
reinforcement depends on the geometry of the stirrer, melt
temperature and the position of the stirrer in the melt.
An improvement in conventional stir casting is a double stir
casting method or two-step casting process.
 With the increase in reinforcement ratio, tensile strength,
hardness and density of Al MMC material increased, but
impact toughness de- creased.
 The impact behaviour of composites was affected by
clustering of particles, particle cracking and weak matrix-
reinforcement bonding.
 The composite materials exhibit improved physical
and mechanical properties, such as low coefficient
of thermal expansion , high ultimate tensile
strength up to 23.68%, high impact strength and
hardness.
 Addition of Al- SiC reinforcement particles, the composite
exhibited lower wear rate compared toAl-Al2O3 composites.
 Aluminium for volume fractions varying from 5-30% and
found that the increase in volume fraction of Al2O3 decreased
the fracture toughness of the MMC. This is due to decrease in
inter-particle spacing between nucleated micro voids.
 The hardness and tensile strength of MMC increases and
electromagnetic stirring action produces MMC with smaller
grain size and good particulate matrix interface bonding.
Hardness-
The maximum hardness was obtained at a weight fraction of
25% with the values of 45.5 BHN.
The hardness increased by two times with weight fraction of
9% silicon carbide when compared to that of the pure form of
aluminium.
Tensile strength-
The reason for the increase in the tensile strength is due to the
tensile load transfer to the strongly bonded silicon carbide
reinforcement which increases the dislocation density and thus
resulting in the grain refining effect.
Compressive strength-
The property of fly ash particles hardens the base alloy and as
a result, the compressive strength increased with the increase
in the size of the fly ash particles.

Ductility-
The composite of the aluminium matrix with silicon carbide
composite and found the throughout decrease in elongation as
low as 2.4%.
The increase in the weight% of fly ash resulted in the
reduction of the ductility due to the clustering and brittleness
of the particles .
 As molded dimensional accuracy
 Tight tolerance, repeatable moldings
 Low-post mold shrinkage
 Chemical Resistance
 Consolidated Parts and Function
 Corrosion Resistance
 Design Flexibility
 Durable
 High Flexural Modulus to Carry Demanding Loads
 High Impact Strength
 High Performance at Elevated Temperatures
•Heat Resistance
•Naturally Flame Retardant
•Creep Resistance
•Mechanical Property Retention
Superior Thermal Stability
•Lighter Weight than Metal
•Lower Costs vs. Die Cast
•Low Petrochemical content
•Better cost stability than commodities
•Lower Cost per Cubic Inch as compared to Thermoplastics
•Molded-in Color
•Molded in inserts
•Outstanding Electrical Insulation
 Higher cost
 Technology relatively immature
 Fabrication methods for fiber-reinforced MMC's complex
 Service experience limited
 Some automotive disc brakes use MMCs. Early Lotus
Elise models used aluminum MMC rotors, but they have
less than optimal heat properties and Lotus has since
switched back to cast-iron.
 Modern high-performance sport cars, such as those built
by Porsche, use rotors made of carbon fiber within a
silicon carbide matrix because of its high specific
heat and thermal conductivity. 3M developed a
preformed aluminum matrix insert for strengthening cast
aluminum disc brake calipers, reducing weight by half
compared to cast iron while retaining similar stiffness.
3M has also used alumina performs for AMC pushrods.
•Honda has used aluminum metal matrix composite cylinder liners in
some of their engines.
•Some equipment in particle accelerators such as Radio Frequency
Quadrupoles (RFQs) or electron targets use copper MMC compounds
such as Glidcop to retain the material properties of copper at high
temperatures and radiation levels.
•Ford offers a Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) driveshaft upgrade. The
MMC driveshaft is made of an aluminum matrix reinforced with boron
carbide, allowing the critical speed of the driveshaft to be raised by
reducing inertia. The MMC driveshaft has become a common
modification for racers, allowing the top speed to be increased far
beyond the safe operating speeds of a standard aluminum driveshaft
 The research efforts and directions related to the present work have
been identified through literature survey. The research papers
concerning with the various properties of composite materials are
discussed in this section.

 Vipin K. Sharma et. al. [1] have investigated effect of fly ash particles on the
wear of aluminum metal matrix composite. Stir casting method was used to
fabricate the MMC with 2, 4 & 6% weight of fly ash contents in aluminum. The
wear resistance of the fabricated composites increases with the increase in the fly
ash contents. The composites with 6% fly ash contents resulted in 13.6% less wear
as compared to 2%fly ash content composites. The sample with fly ash content 4%
resulted in the lowest average coefficient of friction (0.12) and sample with high
fly ash contents 6% shows the maximum average coefficient of friction (0.161).

 Sumit Kumar Tiwari et. al. [2] studied effect of heat treatment on mechanical
properties of aluminum alloy-fly ash metal matrix composite. This study reveals
that, there is an improvement in tensile strength, compressive strength, hardness as
we increases the weight percentage of fly ash & there is an decrease in ductility
with increase percentage. Also it is concluded that the tensile strength, compressive
strength & hardness decreases with increase in particle size of fly ash. Heat
treatment and ageing further improves these properties
I.A. Alkadir et. al. [3] investigated effect of B4C/fly ash addition on wear and mechanica
properties of Al-Cu-Mg alloy. Stir casting method has been used to fabricate the alloy and hybri
composite samples containing 2wt% of B4C and 5, 10, 15،20 wt % fly ash. The results showe
an increase in the tensile and yield properties with the increase of weight percentage of fly as
content up to 15%. Wear rate examination has been concluded by using pin on disc apparatu
under different loads and sliding velocities. The results showed decrease in wear rate at 20% fl
ash composite sample when compared with other composites samples and base alloy.

 Şener Karabulut et. al. [4] have evaluated influence of B4C particle reinforcement o
mechanical and machining properties of Al6061/ B4C composite. Four aluminum 606
composite specimens reinforced with 5 wt. %, 10 wt. %, 15 wt. %, and 20 wt. % B4C wer
fabricated using a powder metallurgy and hot-extrusion method. Result revealed that the fractur
toughness decreases and the hardness increases as the weight fraction of the reinforcemen
increases. The highest tensile and transverse rupture strength are for Al6061/5 wt.% B4C an
Al6061 reinforced with 10 wt.% B4C composite material has the best fracture toughness.

 Dinesh Patidar et. al. [5] studied effect of B4C particle reinforcement on the various propertie
of aluminum matrix composites. Initially by increasing the wt. % of B4C particles the hardnes
value increases drastically and with further reinforcement, the increase in hardness value is lowe
The ultimate stress, breaking load, max displacement and flexural strength increases wit
reinforcement of B4C particulates in aluminum matrix. The wear rate and wear volume is foun
increasing by increase in load and sliding velocity and by decrease in weight percentage of boro
carbide. The density was decreased with increasing the amount of the boron carbide in the matri
phase.
 Work is reported on synthesis of Al & Fly ash composite
but Hybrid composite materials is not studied up to the
mark as this hybrid composite is lighter one & has vast
potential in disposing industrial waste fly ash.
 Work related to tribological properties of Al6061+ Fly
ash + B4C is less on the progress.
 Least work is reported on stir casting parameters like
melting temperature, holding time, speed & depth of
stirrer has crucial effect on composite. Heat treatment &
secondary processing like forging is not attributed in
research work.
 The range of applications for high-strength light metal components
primarily aluminum, but also magnesium and titanium – is constantly
growing. The motivation for using light metals in the automotive
industry is to reduce weight and ultimately lower fuel consumption and
emissions.
However, light metal construction reaches its limits in areas where it
must withstand high tribological, mechanical or thermal stresses. These
weaknesses can be resolved while maintaining a low component weight
through targeted and in some cases partial reinforcement of the metal
with ceramic particles. It is possible to vary the type of ceramic
particles, their size and volume fractions. The objectives of the
technical and application-specific structure design for such ceramics
include:
 Increase mechanical strength
 Influence friction and wear (tribology)
 Influence thermal expansion
 Improve thermal stability
 The matrix material used for the present study is 6061Al-alloy. The chemical
composition of matrix material determined using Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer (model AA-670, Varian, The Netherlands)

 Al2O3 particles with size of 125μm and with varying amounts of 6, 9 and 12wt% are
being used as reinforcing material in the preparation of composites.
Stir casting technique has been used for the preparation of composites.
Initially calculated amount of 6061Al alloy was charged into SiC crucible
and superheated to a temperature of 8000 C in an electrical resistance
furnace.

 A novel three stage mixing combined with preheating of the reinforcing particles is
followed. Ceramic Al2O3 particulates were preheated to a temperature of 2000 C in an
oven to remove the adsorbed gases from the particle surface and to avoid high drop of
temperature after addition of particulates.

 Preheated Al2O3 particles were introduced into the vortex of the

molten alloy after effective degassing using solid hexachloroethane
(C2Cl6). Vortex is generated with the help of a zirconia coated steel
impeller.
.The extent of incorporation of Al2O3 particles in the matrix alloy was achieved in
steps of 3. i.e. Total amount of reinforcement required was calculated and is being
introduced into the melt 3 times rather than introducing all at once.

 At every stage before and after introduction of reinforcement, mechanical stirring

is carried out for a period of 10 min.

 The stirrer was preheated before immersing into the melt, and is located
approximately to a depth of 2/3 height of the molten metal from the bottom and run at
a speed of 200 rpm. Composite mixture was poured into permanent cast iron moulds
having diameter 12.5mm and length of 125mm at a pouring temperature of 7500 C.

 The prepared composites were characterized by microscopic studies. Specimens

of 12mm diameter and thickness of 10mm were cut from the central portion of the
casting for microstructural studies conducted using Optical microscopy(model DS
X100,Olympus).SEM photographs were obtained using Scanning Electron
Microscope (make-Joel, Japan).For XRD (Philips analytical) analysis, a plot of 2-
theta verses intensity could be analyzed using origin plus software. The density of the
samples were measured by Archimedes’s method while theoretical density is
computed by taking densities of 6061Al matrix and Al2O3 particles as 2.7 and
3.9gm/cm3 respectively.
To investigate the mechanical behaviour of the composites the hardness and tensile tests were
carried out using Zwick and computerized uni-axial tensile testing machine. the dimensions of
the mould and specimen used for tensile studies.

 The Micro-Vickers hardness values of the composites before and after addition of Al2O3
particles were measured with a load of 20N using MVH-II digital micro hardness tester
(Zwick/Roell indentec).

 The hardness value reported is the average value of 100 readings taken at various locations on
the polished specimen. Similarly tensile tests were carried out before and after addition of Al2O3
particles and for each of the composite three tests were conducted and average value is reported.
 We have studied lot of research paper on Analysis of
Aluminium metal matrix composites.
 We have collected all the materials necessary for analysis
 We have Aluminium 6061 rod,Sic,Aluminum
oxide,Copper and zinc for experiment.
 We have discussed with our guide to perform better
experiment.
 In next weak ,we are ready to perform experiment at
different temperature to find out different propertries of
composites under the guidance of Mr. Annant Dhawan.
 We are sure that our project is benefitial for our
community and betterment for our society.
THANKING YOU