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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

Study of Mechanical Behaviour of Stir cast


Aluminium Based Composite Reinforced with
Mechanically Ball milled Tib2 Nano Particles
E.S.Esakkiraj1, a, S. Suresh2, b, N. Shenbaga Vinayaga Moorthi3, c
M.Krishna kumar4, d, S.M.Jenin Ranjith5, e
1

Post Graduate Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College of Engineering Nagercoil,
Tamilnadu, India India,Pin:629003,Tel:+91-9444437611.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College of Engineering, Nagercoil, Tamilnadu, India, Pin: 629
004. Tel.: +91 9443494576, Fax: +91 4652 260511.
3

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University V.O.C. College of Engineering, Thoothukudi, Tamilnadu,


India, Pin: 628008. Tel.:+91 9443672002.

4,5

Under Graduate Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ponjesly College of Engineering, Nagercoil,
Tamilnadu, India.
a

skyrider_raj@yahoo.in, bssuresh2009@gmail.com, cnsvmoorthi@gmail.com,


d

krishna2915@gmail.com, ejeninranjith@gmail.com,

Abstract-

Keywords-Metal matrix composites, Aluminium based


TiB2, Nanoparticles, Ball milling, and Aluminium 6061
material.

Metal matrix composites possess some


glamorous properties like light weight, low density ,high
strength-to-density ratio, formable to complex shape,
lower manufacturing cost and are used more in
commercial, industrial, marine, naval based industrial
and are extensively used in automobiles and aerospace
like empennage, wings, fuselage in fighter aircraft,
bomber, transport, general aviation, rotary aircraft etc.
Many researches are done on micro structural metals
matrix composites and they result shows that composite
of micro structural having good mechanical properties.
Instead of using micro structural nano particles are
used for better mechanical properties and better
applications in aeronautical field. The present study is
an attempt to prepare and analysis of mechanical
properties of Aluminium 6061 reinforcement with TiB2
nanoparticles using liquid metallurgy. By the use of ball
milling process the TiB2 micro particles are converted in
to nano particles and reinforced with Aluminium 6061
in stir casting process. The addition level of
reinforcement is being varied from 0-15wt% in step of 4
wt%.Test carried out on the fabricated composite
included scanning electron microscopy, XRD, EDAX
analysis, and Thermal analysis.

1. INTRODUCTION
Generally, a composite material is composed of
reinforcement like fibre, particles and fillers are in a matrix
of polymers, metals, or ceramics. Properties of composites
are hardly dependent on the properties of their blended
materials like silicon carbide, aluminium oxide and graphite
etc., in the form of particles or whiskers and their
distribution and the interaction among them. Apart from the
behaviour of the blended materials, the shape and size of
the reinforcement matrix is also play vital role in composite
manufacturing industries. The matrix grab the
reinforcement to form the desired shape while the
reinforcement improves the overall mechanical properties
and corrosion properties of the matrix .While composites
have already proven that weight-reducing materials and
also cost-reducing materials. Metal matrix composites
possess some attractive properties, when compared with
other matrices. These include High Strength-to-Density
Ratio, Non-conductive and conductive, Formable to
Complex Shape, Improve Fatigue Resistance, Improve
Creep-Lifetime, Lower Manufacturing Cost etc. However,
the major Aluminium alloy Metal Matrix Composites

ISBN 978-93-80609-17-1
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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

(MMCs) are used more and more for primary structures in


commercial, industrial, aerospace, marine, naval vessels,
automobile industrial and aeronautical applications because
of their light weight, low density, high strength and good
structural rigidity compare to common structural materials
and are extensively used in automobiles and aerospace
applications.

carried out on the fabricated composite included XRD,


metallographic study, EDAX analysis, micro hardness,
density distribution, grain size analysis, wear and tensile
strength.
2. EXPERIMENTAL WORK
Most of the Metal matrix composites are produced by
this liquid phase fabrication techniques. The process has
major advantage that the production costs of MMCs are
very low. Experimental work required aluminium 6061-T6
rod (solutionized and artificially aged) and TiB2 powder.
Titanium di borides of particales size below 10m are
purchased from Shandong Pengcheng Special Ceramics
Co., Ltd., P.R. China. Where the conversion of micro
particles into nano particles are required which can be done
by ball milling process. Dry Ball milling operations are
carried out in Mepco Schlenk engineering college. Place
the grinding balls of 100 numbers in the empty bowl and
fill the TiB2 powder to be ground on the balls .Grinding
bowls can be filled and then closed with the help of the
additional clamping system in a box and then setting the
speed of 300 rpm, running time 15 minutes, breaking time 5
minutes, repetition of grinding 4 cycle for grinding 1 hour.
The same process is repeated for different hour 2 hour, 3
hour, 4 hour, etc. up to nano conversion. The conversion of
nano particles are examined by TEM and SEM images and
the moved for stir casting process.

Nanotechnology is a production of materials in dimensions


less than 100 nm. Nano scale particles, like SiO2, TiO2,
TiB2, Al2O3, ZrO2, Ag, Nano diamonds, Carbon Nano
fibres, carbon Nano tubes, Nano clays. Some other typical
applications of nanotechnology are improving mechanical
properties, increasing the electrical conductivity, increasing
thermal conductivity, weight reduction (approximately 2050%), Corrosion resistance, Fatigue resistance, Higher
material costs, Nonvisible impact damage, Lower assembly
costs. More than any other major industry, the aerospace
industry is one where a relatively small change in design
can have enormous economic impact on the product over its
lifespan. Approximately 50% of the airframe is made from
composites in the commercial aircraft industry most
efficient use of advanced composites in aircraft structure is
in applications with highly loaded parts with thick gages,
High fatigue loads in fuselage and wing structure, Areas
susceptible to corrosion in fuselage, Critical weight
reduction in empennage, wings, fuselage, Fighter Aircraft,
Bomber, Transport, General Aviation, Rotary Aircraft etc.
Aeronautical engineering comprises of various distinct
areas that produces vehicles capable of performing distinct
flight programmes. Initially importance was given to
weight, speed and power, but other parameters that
influence market acceptance of the aircraft should also be
considered during design. These conditions call for
selection of materials that give less than optimum efficiency
in terms of structure and systems. Hence, it is important to
consider performance needs as well as service properties.
Airframe design starts with evaluation of flight conditions
which the aircraft will encounter. In recent designs, wind
tunnel tests and analysis are being done to determine the lift
and drag forces. Once determined, they are used to develop
various related factors of structural engineering. The
selection of material, it follows, enters naturally into the
picture at the early stage of design itself. The high strength
of composites allows designing of higher aspect ratio wings
in aerofoil sections. Automation along with high standard
for filament and matrix materials will also decrease
fabrication costs, as the rejection on grounds of quality will
be less. Performance, reliability and efficiency of operators
alone can assure the success of any programme and the
space program in particular. The potential and application
of high-performance composites has revolutionized space
structural technology. The present study is an attempt to
preparation and study of mechanical properties of
Aluminium reinforcement with a Nano particle related to
aeronautical field application using liquid metallurgy. Test

(a)

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

(b)

(a)

(c)
Fig.1 (a) Internal arrangement of ball milling machine. (b)
External view of ball milling machine. (c) Rotation of the
grinding ball.
3. STIR CASTING
The matrix material used for the current study was
Aluminium with TiB2. Stir casting process was carried out
in Anna University, Chennai. The matrix material was
loaded in a graphite crucible and it is placed inside a top
loaded resistance furnace a different temperature level (700
o
C,750 oC,800 oC, 850 oC,900 oC). The TiB2 reinforcement
(average size 40 Nano meter) pre heated at 650oC for two
hours before added in the matrix melt .The 0%, 5%, 10%,
15% by volume of preheated TiB2 powder was added in the
liquid melt and the slurry was consciously stirred using a
stirring .The four blade stirrer was designed in order to
produce the adequate homogeneous particle distribution
throughout the matrix material. From that different type of
specimen are prepared for studying the mechanical
properties. In this technique, fabricated aluminium based
nano composite reinforced with TiB2 using stir casting.

(b)
Fig.2 (a) Stir Cast setup. (b) Preheating TiB2 Nano
powder.
4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The fineness after the ball milling process is
validated with the help of SEM, the images patterns
obtained is as follows: After 2 hours ball milling the
fineness obtained is around 500 millimicrons (fig. a). And
light variations are observed when the ball milling process
is carried out for 3 hours (fig. b). And the same process is
repeated to 10 hours as a result the obtained powder is
more fine nearly 200 Nano microns (fig. c). Below 100
Nano microns is obtained after continuous ball milling
process of 15 hours (fig. d).

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

(d)
Fig 3 (a) Two hours ball milling (b) Three hours ball
milling. (c) Ten hours ball milling (d) Fifteen hours ball
milling

(a)

Thermal analysis is the analysis of a change in a


property of a sample, which is related to an imposed change
in the temperature.
10 0 .2

2 5 .0 0

1 8 3 u V .s / m g
10 0 .2

6 4 1 .3 C e l
2 3 .0 1 u V
2 0 .0 0

6 6 5 .5 C e l
2 1 .4 4 u V

10 0 .1

10 0 .1
15 .0 0

10 0 .0

TG %

DTA uV

10 0 .0

10 .0 0
9 9 .9

9 9 .9
5 .0 0
6 5 6 .1 C e l
5 .4 9 u V

0 .0 0

(b)

9 9 .8

0 .5 %

10 0 .0

2 0 0 .0

3 0 0 .0

4 0 0 .0
T em p C el

9 9 .8

5 0 0 .0

6 0 0 .0

7 0 0 .0

(a)
10 0 .4
2 5 .0 0

1 8 6 u V .s / m g

6 4 4 .0 C e l
2 3 .4 8 u V
2 0 .0 0

10 0 .3
6 6 7 .3 C e l
2 1 .7 3 u V

10 0 .1

6 5 8 .2 C e l
7 .0 4 u V

5 .0 0

9 9 .9

0 .0 0
10 0 .0

2 0 0 .0

3 0 0 .0

4 0 0 .0
T em p C el

5 0 0 .0

(b)

1566

10 0 .0

10 0 .0

0 .4 %

6 0 0 .0

7 0 0 .0

TG %

DTA uV

10 0 .1
10 .0 0

ISBN 978-93-80609-17-1

10 0 .2

10 0 .2

15 .0 0

(c)

10 0 .3

International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

[2] L.H. Manjunathan and P. Dinesh, Novel technique for


fabrication of aluminum6061-MWCNT metal matrix
composites, in ARPN journal of engineering and
Preparation and evaluation of mechanical and wear
properties of AL6061 reinforced with graphite and SiC
particulate metal matrix composite, applied sciences, 2013,
vol.8, no.3.

3 0 .0 0
10 0 .3
1 8 6 u V .s /m g

2 5 .0 0
0 .3 %

2 0 .0 0

6 6 7 .7 C e l
2 2 .3 2 u V

10 0 .2

TG %

D T A uV

10 0 .2

6 4 2 .6 C e l
2 3 .8 1 u V

15 .0 0

10 0 .1

10 .0 0

10 0 .1

6 5 8 .2 C e l
6 .8 2 u V

5 .0 0

10 0 .0

2 0 0 .0

3 0 0 .0

4 0 0 .0
T em p C el

5 0 0 .0

6 0 0 .0

10 0 .0

[3] K.K. Alaneme, B.O. Ademilua, M.O. Bodunrin,


Mechanical properties and corrosion behaviour of
aluminium hybrid composites reinforced with silicon
carbide and bamboo leaf ash, in Tribology in Industry,
2013, vol.35, no.1, pp.25-35.

7 0 0 .0

(c)
3 0 .0 0
1 8 9 u V .s /m g

6 4 3 .5 C e l
2 6 .9 6 u V

2 5 .0 0

6 6 7 .7 C e l
2 6 .4 9 u V

10 0 .4

10 0 .3

[4] V. Shivaji Gawali, Vinod B.Tungikar, Wear


prediction of metal matrix composite in presence of
greasing material, in Science Research, Energy and Power
Engineering, 2012, vol.4, pp.173-177.

10 0 .3

10 0 .2

10 0 .2
15 .0 0

TG %

D T A uV

2 0 .0 0

10 0 .1
6 5 8 .2 C e l
1 2 .1 7 u V

10 .0 0

10 0 .1

10 0 .0

0 .5 %

5 .0 0

[5] S.N. Prashant, Mahev Nagaral and V. Auradi, in


International journal of mechanical engineering and
robotics research, 2012, vol.1, no.3.

10 0 .0

9 9 .9
10 0 .0

2 0 0 .0

3 0 0 .0

4 0 0 .0
T em p C el

5 0 0 .0

6 0 0 .0

7 0 0 .0

(d)

[6] R. Taherzadeh Mousavian, S. Sharafi and M.H.


Shariat, Preparation of nano-structural Al2o3-TiB2 in-situ
composite using mechanically activated combustion
synthesis followed by intensive milling, in Iranian Journal
of Materials Science &Engineering, 2011, vol.8, no.2.

Fig 4(a) AL6061 with 0% of TiB2, (b)AL6061 with 5% of


TiB2, (c) AL6061 with 10% of TiB2 and (d) AL6061 with
15% of TiB2
After the samples are made then Stir Casting
process is initiated. Stir casting process is done on samples
of AL6061 with 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% of TiB2. The casted
pieces are then subjected to thermal analysis. Nitrogen gas
at 100ml/min is made to flow during this thermal analysis.
The temperature is maintained between 31 C to 751 C.
Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Thermo
gravimetric analysis (TG) is done for all the four samples.
In (fig. 4, a, b) the properties decrease from 31 C and
around 475 C it again increases gradually. Fig (4, c)
indicates that the properties starts decreasing from 31 C
and around 425 C again it starts increasing gradually.
From fig (4.d) we can understand that from 31 C the TG
value decreases and around 475 C again it starts
increasing.

[7] A. Mahamani, Mechanism of in-situ reinforcement


formation in fabrication of AA6061- TiB2 metal matrix
composite, in Indian Foundry Journal, 2011, vol.57, no.3.
[8] C. Mallikarjuna, S.M. Shashidhara, U.S. Mallik, K.I.
Parashivamurthy, Grain refinement and wear properties
evaluation of aluminum alloy 2014 matrix- TiB2 in-situ
composites, in Materials and Design, 2011, vol.32,
pp.3554-3559.
[9] A.R.K. Swamy, A. Ramesha, G.B. Veeresh kumar,
J.N.Prakash, Effect of particulate reinforcement on the
mechanical properties of Al6061-WC and Al6061-Gr
MMCs, in the Journal of Minerals & Materials
Characterization & Engineering, 2011, vol.10, no.12,
pp.1141-1152.

5. REFERENCES
[1] H.B. Michael Rajan, S. Ramabalan, I. Dinaharan, S.J.
Vijay, Synthesis and characterization of in situ formed
titanium di boride particulate reinforced AA7075
aluminum alloy cast composites, in Materials and Design,
2013, vol.44, pp.438-445.

[10] N.B. Dhokey, S. Ghule, K. Rane, R.S. Ranade, Effect


of KBF4 and K2TiF6 on precipitation kinetics of TiB2 in
aluminium matrix composite, in Advanced Materials
Letters, 2011,vol.2, no.3, 210-216.

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

[11] N.R. Rajasekaran, V. Sampath, Effect of in-situ TiB2


particle addition on the mechanical properties of AA 2219
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[12] C.S. Ramesh, S. Pramod, R. Keshavamurthy, A study
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[13] N.R.
Prabhu swamy, C.S. Ramesh and T.
Chandrashekar, Effect of heat treatment on strength and
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[14] H. AbuEl-Ainin, Mohamed K. Hassan, Y. Mohammed,
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