Erosion-corrosion behavior of aluminum 7075 based SiC reinforced nanocomposites

Abstract

In present study corrosion studies were conducted on Al7075/SiC nanocomposites processed by powder metallurgy and stir casting techniques. The weight percentage of SiC nanoparticles was varied from 1% to 4% for preparing the nanocomposites. The erosion-corrosion studies were conducted by means of slurry pot experiment under simulated marine environment of 3.5% NaCl. The weight losses of Al7075 alloy and its nanocomposites under various experimental conditions. The studies have been performed at the specimens through using distinct sand concentrations (10-40%) varying rotational/slurry speed (500-1500rpm) and ranging impinging particle (100-600microns) respectively. Powder metallurgy processed nanocomposites showed higher weight loss when compared to those processed using cast route. Worn-out surface analysis using scanning electron microscopy revealed ploughing, abrasion and fracture as the main erosion mechanisms for all materials processed using both the processing techniques.