A Comparative Study of Mechanical Properties of As Cast and Heat Treated Al6063-MWCNT Composite Fabricated by Stir Casting Process

Abstract

The Expansion of manufacturing industries has somewhere led to the increase in the use of composite materials. Metal Matrix Composites (MMC) are the advanced and new age materials that find application in sectors like automotive, aerospace, rail components, defense etc. because of their light weight, high strength, good corrosion, wear resistance and low thermal coefficient of expansion. Among the different methods of manufacturing MMCs, Stir casting process is one of the most important and economical method. The present work is about the preparation of aluminium Matrix Composite by stir casting technique, where Al 6063 is the matrix or the base metal and 2% by Weight of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in powder form is the reinforcement material. Microstructure analysis will be done in order to observe the distribution of CNT particles in the Al matrix. The specimens will also be subjected to heat treatment before being tested. The ASTM standard specimens will then be tested for wear, tensile, compression, Impact and hardness to compare the results. The major objective of this work is to compare the mechanical properties of both As-cast and heat treated test samples for the aluminium 6063-MWCNT composite fabricated by means of stir casting process and hence compare the results.