Production And Characterization Of Aluminium Alloy (Al-6063) Matrix Composite Reinforced With Rice Husk Ash Using Stir Casting

Abstract

Because of their superior mechanical and physical qualities, aluminum-based composites using rice husk ash as particle reinforcement are in high demand in the aerospace industry. The materials' improved mechanical and physical characteristics are a direct result of the interaction between the aluminum matrix and the RHA reinforcement. Most production factories have been facing great challenges or problems due to the customer demand for lightweight and high strength material, especially used in aerospace, automotive, and marine industries. Therefore, it was essential to develop and study lightweight to obtain high strength capability. The main objective of this study is to produce aluminum alloy and rice husk ash composite with various percentage compositions and to characterize their mechanical properties. The impact of RHA particles on the enhancement of mechanical characteristics of aluminum metal matrix composites was and also the focus of this research. The different RHA compositions (0, 4%, 8%, 12%, and 16%) were used to develop the composite using the stir casting route, while all other parameters remained constant. Various mechanical properties like tensile strength, hardness and compressive strength, were evaluated for five different composition specimens. The experimental results showed that the tensile strength, hardness and compression strength of aluminum alloy were improved by 49%, 16%, and 6% respectively. A result of tensile test shows that, tensile strength of aluminum alloy (Al6063) raised from 48.19 MPa to 168.35 MPa, when 16% of RHA was added. As the load increases from 10N to 50N in the step of 20N, the coefficient of friction and wear loss increases. At 50N load, the maximum weight loss was 0.0096g for non reinforced specimen and the minimum weight loss was 0.0115g for reinforced specimen (Al6063/16% RHA) at this load. Also, the result of hardness and compression tests shows that, the hardness and compression strength of aluminum alloy (Al6063) were increased from 76.14 HRF to 88.44 HRF, and 392.75 MPa to 417.31 MPa respectively with the increasing in weight percentage of RHA to 16%.