Experimental Investigation on A356.1 Aluminum Composite Reinforced with Zirconia Nano Metal Matrix Composites Fabricated via Stir Casting Technique

Abstract

Aluminum amalgams are used in self-impelled productions because of their longevity strength and mechanical behavior, alloys of aluminum have numerous interests while used in engineering determinations, in spite of their better formability and malleability, low density, high electrical and thermal comductivity. In this work, ZrO₂ Nanoparticles with particle size of 50nm reinforced A356.1 aluminum alloy, Nano Metal Matrix Composite were prepared through liquid state casting i.e. stir casting method with varying weight proportion ratios of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0% at a constant speed of 100rpm for 30 minutes. Fabricated Nano Aluminum metal were characterized using Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) which showed their distribution of surface structure, crystalline phase and elemental compositions. Hardness tests were carried on Brinell hardness, tensile tests were carried on electronic tensometer and also tribological behavior of fabricated material was conducted by computerized pin on disc wear testing apparatus. As the reinforcement wt. % percentage increases, more load is transferred to these strong reinforcing elements, resulting in higher hardness and tensile strength for the composite. Results revealed that the NMMCs with 4.0 % reinforcement exhibit superior mechanical and tribological properties.