Abstract
A popular and cost-effective method for creating and processing metal matrix
composite materials is the stir casting process, which produces casting alloy-based
composite components made of aluminium. This study entails the development of an
aluminium matrix composite reinforced with alumina particles, with the Matrix being
the Al6061 alloy and the reinforcement AlzO3 particles, with a particle size of 600
microns. The originality of this study is on the formation of the mixing ratio of the 600
microns in the composite development. The fabrication method was the stir casting
technique to enable a homogeneous mixture for excellent mechanical properties of the
varying composites with different reinforcement compositions, ranging from 5% - 30%
of the Al2O3 material. The study performed mechanical tests such as tensile,
compressive, hardness, impact and microstructural analysis on the developed
composites. At the end of the study, it was discovered that the properties of the Al 6061
alloy, when reinforced with the alumina particles, improved when various tests were
carried out. The tensile strength increased significantly after reinforcement, reaching a
maximum value of 33.9 MPa compared to the initial value of 12.16 MPa. For the Impact
test, the specimen with the most negligible impact was the aluminium composite with
0% reinforcement and 100% Al6061 alloy with an impact value of 25.75 J/mm2 and the
maximum value of impact being with the composition of 30% reinforcement of Al2O3
and 70% of Al6061 with 43.67 J/mm2 amount of impact. The composite value with the
maximum hardness, i.e. 30% of AlzO3 and 70% of Al6061, has a hardness value of 34.66.
The study also investigated the relationships between mechanical properties and the
compositions of the reinforcements, revealing valuable insights into their interplay of
the load, composition percentage, and time.