Investigations on mechanical and tribological properties of Al-Si10-Mg alloy/sugarcane bagasse ash particulate composites

ABSTRACT

Aluminum metal matrix composites are a new generation of metal matrix composites that have the potential of sustaining the emerging demand for advanced engineering applications. These demands were satisfied due to massive mechanical and tribological properties of the aluminum hybrid composite material. In this work, abundantly available agricultural waste product (i.e., sugarcane bagasse ash) was used as a reinforcement material in AlSi10Mg alloy to enhance the alloy material properties for their better accomplishment in industrial applications. Initially, the chemical composition of the sugarcane bagasse ash particles was analyzed using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy test, which revealed the presence of rich Silica content in the ash particles. Sugarcane bagasse ash particles of three different weight percentages (i.e., 6, 9, and 12%) are reinforced with aluminum alloy (AlSi10Mg) using stir casting process. The wear mechanisms and fractured morphology of the tensile tested specimen were analyzed with the aid of scanning electron microscopy. The result shows that the tensile, hardness, and impact strength were increased with increase in the weight percentage of sugarcane bagasse ash particles but ductility decreased when increasing the weight percentage. Further, dry sliding wear behavior of the fabricated composites was tested using Pin-on-Disc for three different loads (10 N, 20 N, 30 N). The wear rate and coefficient of friction for the hybrid matrix composites were found to be decreased while increasing the weight percentage of ash content, but they increase while increasing the applied load.

KEYWORDS:

• Aluminum alloy
• fracture morphology
• mechanical properties
• stir casting
• sugarcane bagasse ash
• wear

Acknowledgment

The authors would be liked to thank the Department of Nanosciences in Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore and The National College, Trichy for providing technical support (SEM) to carry out this research work.