Investigations on the effect of tungsten carbide particles on the hardness and wear properties of aluminium composite materials

Abstract

Composite material is made from two or more materials with different physical or chemical properties that, when combined, produce a material with superior characteristics. These materials are anisotropic and inhomogeneous materials. It is having unique properties in which the strength-to-weight ratio is high. Basically there are three types of composite materials. They are polymer-matrix composites, metal-matrix composites and ceramic-matrix composites. They are widely used in numerous engineering applications. These materials are widely used in variety of markets, including aerospace, architecture, automotive, energy, infrastructure, marine, military, sports and recreation. Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) consists of at least two constituents, one being a metal necessarily, the other material may be a different metal or another material, such as a ceramic or organic compound. Hardness is a measure of resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by either mechanical indentation or abrasion. Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. In this research paper the hardness and wear behaviour of aluminium composites (Al6061) reinforced with Tungsten Carbide (WC) was investigated. The results revealed that, the hardness of composite increases with increase in the percentage of tungsten carbide particles. The wear resistance of the composite also increases with increase in tungsten carbide particle weight fraction.