Comparative Investigation on Mechanical and Tribological Performance between E-Glass Fiber and Boron Carbide (B4c) Reinforced Aluminum 8176 MMC

Abstract

Because of its high strength to weight ratio and high corrosion resistance features, hybrid reinforcement of aluminium is a technology developed in response to the constantly growing demand in areas of the service industries such as aircraft, automobile, marine, and transportation. The two types of aluminium metal matrix composites (MMCs) used in this study—one reinforced with B4C fibre and the other with E-glass fiber—are examined for their mechanical and tribological properties. Both composites, Al8176, were made utilising the Stir Casting technique, and the reinforcement percentage varied in 2 wt.% increments (that is 0, 2, 4 and 6 wt.%). After solidification, the tests on specimen were conducted according to ASTM standards. The results of the tensile test show that both Al8176/B4C and Al8176/E-Glass fiber composites achieved their highest tensile strength at 4 wt.% reinforcement, reaching 72.5 N/mm² and 103.5 N/mm², respectively. Similarly, the compression strength of the composites reached its peak at 6 wt.% reinforcement, measuring 319.6 N/mm² and 292.2 N/mm² for Al8176/B4C and Al8176/E-Glass fiber respectively. The Al8176/B4C and Al8176/E-Glass fibre composites' the highest hardness ratings were observed to be 26.8 HV1 and 38.0 HV1 respectively at 6 weight percent reinforcement, according to the Micro Vickers hardness test. The wear tests wear conducted on test specimen using pin on disc method in which, the disk was running at a speed of 2000 rpm and the load was varied at intervals of 2,4,6 kg. SEM analyses were performed at 100x, 200x, and 500x magnifications.