Experimental investigations on Mechanical and Tribological behaviour of A356 with x wt% Boron Carbide and Fly Ash Hybrid Composites

Abstract

The current research work aims to analyse the behaviour of mechanical and tribological characteristics of stir cum squeeze cast A356 with Boron Carbide(B4C) and Fly ash (FA) Metal Matrix Hybrid Composites (MMHC's) on hardness, wear rate and friction coefficient. Experiments were carried out through stir cum squeeze casting method by keeping the influenced process parameters constant and varying three different equal weight percentage (2.5, 5, 7.5wt%) of B4C and FA with A356 alloy. Each prepared composite samples were tested for hardness and also, wear and friction characteristics were accomplished in a pin on disc tribometer apparatus. The wear and friction characteristics were obtained by varying the load of 10,20,30,40N with a constant sliding distance of 2500m respectively on the tribometer. Experimental investigation results uncovered that the hardness of A356 with 7.5wt% B4C and 7.5wt% FA MMHC's was increased with an increment in the weight percentage of B4C and FA. Also, there is an increase in the wear rate and a decrease in friction coefficient with a rise in the load from 10N to 40N. Overall, the wear rate of the MMHC sample was reduced with a higher wt% of B4C and FA. The study reveals that the prepared MMHC's via stir cum squeeze casting was a suitable component for automobiles.