ABSTRACT
In this work, the effect of mixing parameters on the distribution of B4C in 6061-Al alloy and its correlation with mechanical behaviour was studied. 6061-Al alloy powder was mixed with 10 mass-% B4C powder in a ball mill and powder rotator mixer by varying mixing time from 1 to 5 h. Mixing was performed in both wet and dry conditions in a ball mill while only dry condition was used in the powder rotator mixer. The green compacts were sintered at 630°C. The quadrat method was used to quantify the distribution of B4C particles in the microstructures of sintered Al/B4C composite. The results showed that the distribution was improved with mixing time but the density, hardness and compression strength of Al/B4C composites were reduced with time during ball milling. On the other hand, the distribution of reinforcement, density, hardness and compressive strength of Al/B4C composites was improved with mixing time in the powder rotator mixer.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Head, Powder Processing Group PINSTECH Islamabad, for permitting us to utilise their facilities and resources for this work. The authors also feel indebted to the Microscopy Division, IST and In-charge, Mechanical Characterisation Labs PIEAS, Islamabad for their generous support in microstructural and mechanical characterisation.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
ORCID
Fahad Ali http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7803-3908