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Characterisation of Al-Si-TiB2 In-situ Composite Synthesised by Stir Casting

Method

Article · December 2017

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49066 S.K.Sahoo et al./ Elixir Materials Science 113 (2017) 49066-49069
Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal)

Materials Science
Elixir Materials Science 113 (2017) 49066-49069

Characterisation of Al-Si-TiB2 In-situ Composite Synthesised by Stir

Casting Method
S.K.Sahoo1,*, J. Majhi1, S.C. Patnaik1, Ajit Behera2, J.K. Sahoo1 and Bhabani P.Sahoo1
1
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, Sarang, Dhenkanal
(ODISHA), INDIA-759146.
2Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela

Sundargarh, (ODISHA), INDIA-769008.

ARTICLE INFO AB S T RA C T
Art i cl e h i sto ry : Aluminium-Silicon alloy based metal matrix composites have been recognized as an
Received: 09 October 2017; appropriate wear resistant material particularly for sliding wear applications. An attempt
Received in revised form: has been made in the present paper to highlight the performance of Al-Si-TiB2
20 November 2017; composites with variation in Silicon content and presence of TiB 2 synthesised by means
Accepted: 01 December 2017; of salt metal reaction during stir casting method. The dry sliding wear behaviour of these
composites was studied using a pin-on-disc wear testing machine varying load (10, 20,
K ey w o rd s 30N) with a sliding velocity of 1m.s-1 for a sliding distance of 1800m. The
TiB2, microstructures of the specimens were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscope as
In-situ composites, well as with optical microscope and also tested for hardness using Vickers hardness
Wear, tester. Wear resistance and hardness values found to increase with increased wt% of Si.
Microstructure. © 2017 Elixir All rights reserved.

1. Introduction TiB2 in molten aluminium imparts a favourable circumstance

Silicon can be added in adequate quantities (up to 12.6%) for fabricating Al–TiB2 composite via the in situ salt metal
to cause significant decrease in the melting range without route. This method is also the best alternative attempt to
causing brittleness in hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys. synthesize new generation in-situ composites compared to the
Hypereutectic Al-Si alloys have won the interest of traditional ex-situ techniques because of excellent wettability,
researchers for their ability to substitute cast iron parts in the homogenous distribution and clean interface between the
transportation sectors. Hypereutectic Al–Si alloys are matrix and reinforcement. TiB2 particles are responsible for
extensively used in aerospace industries and automotive grain refinement of the Al-Si alloy, pining of dislocation line,
sectors in a variety of product applications demanding high and formation of Orowan dislocation loops and also grain
strength to weight ratio, better wear and corrosion resistance, boundary strengthening [5-12].
good machinability, excellent castability and thermal In this work an effort has been made to investigate the
expansion coefficient [1]. The properties of the hypereutectic synthesis and characterization of Al-Si hyper-eutectic alloys
alloys can be tailored as they significantly depend upon on with 2wt. % in-situ TiB2 through salt metal reaction with the
the primary silicon morphology along with their size and help of stir casting method.
distribution in the Al-Si alloy. Mechanical properties of the 2. Experimental procedure
alloy can be enhanced by the concurrent refinement and Al-xSi-2TiB2 (x = 12.6, 15, 18 wt. %) composite samples
modification of the primary and eutectic silicon with have been synthesized by salt metal reaction and the samples
reinforcement of TiB2. Reinforcing ceramic particles like were examined for their physical and mechanical properties.
TiB2, SiC or Al2O3 to the aluminium based matrix phase does 2.1 Synthesis of in-situ Al- xSi-2TiB2 composite
not increase the density noticeably but ensures considerable Commercially pure Aluminium and Al-50Si master alloy
rise in the strength to weight ratio, modulus and wear was melted in a graphite crucible in a pit type melting furnace
properties [2-4]. at 800°C to prepare Al-xSi alloy. The Al-xSi-2TiB2
Al-TiB2 composites reveal useful and distinctive features composites were synthesized by exothermic salt metal
with respect to its properties and synthesis route. Being a reaction which consists of adding together K2TiF6 and KBF4
refractory compound TiB2 exhibits exceptional characteristics halide salts to molten Al-Si alloy and allowed for 30 minutes
such as high melting point (2790°C), high hardness (86 HRA of reaction time. Titanium Diboride (TiB2) particles are
or 960 HV) and high modulus (530 x 10 3GPa). Its high formed as a result of chemical reactions of the salts in the
temperature strength represents itself to be a good potential molten base alloy. Intermittent stirring was carried out to
reinforcing competitor in an aluminium based matrix. The ensure complete reaction of salts and uniform distribution of
dislocation density is enhanced in Al-TiB2 composites as a TiB2 particles within molten Aluminium alloy. Before
result of difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion casting, all the lighter dross was decanted to ensure sound
between the reinforcement and the matrix and these casting. The desired composites specimens were casted by
dislocations can also perform as sites for nucleation. In pouring into a preheated (at 450°C) cast iron mould [9].
addition, the exothermic nature of reaction for producing

Tele:
E-mail address: [email protected]
© 2017 Elixir All rights reserved
49067 S.K.Sahoo et al./ Elixir Materials Science 113 (2017) 49066-49069
18Si alloy primary Si particles are evident in SEM
micrograph. Due to formation of TiB2 particles in the
composite, the space available for the growth of Si decreases,
thus restrict the growth of most of the primary Silicon and
also acts as nucleating sites during solidification[5-12].

(a)

(a)

(b)
Figure 2.1. (a) Mould for casting of AMC (b) Al-12.6Si-
2TiB2 cast composite.
2.2 Characterization
Samples for microstructural observations were prepared
following standard procedures and etched with Keller’s (b)
reagent. The micrographs of the samples were examined
under computerized optical microscope with varying
magnifications and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) as
well.
X-ray diffraction analysis of the prepared samples of size
10mm x 10 mm x 2mm was carried out with Cu-Kα target to
recognize different phases present in the sample by matching
of obtained peaks with JCPDS data files.
Hardness values of the specimens were measured in
Microvicker’s hardness tester using square based diamond
pyramid as indenter and 1kgf applied load for 15 seconds.
Care was taken to make both the horizontal faces of the test (c)
sample parallel by polishing. The Vickers Hardness values Figure 3.1. Optical micrograph at (100X) of (a) Al-12.6Si-
(VHN) of the samples were obtained from the measured 2TiB2 (b) Al-15Si- 2TiB2 (c ) Al-18Si-2TiB2.
diagonals of the indentations made at three locations of a
sample. The density of the samples was measured turn by
turn with the help of a density tester.
A pin on disc wear testing machine was used to
investigate the dry sliding wear behaviour of the cylindrical
pins of the composite sample with 10mm diameter and 30mm
height. The load was varied from 10 to 30N with sliding
velocity of 1 m.s-1 (track radius=40mm, 238 rpm) for 30
minutes at room temperature without any lubricant. The
microprocessor controlled wear testing machine provides
simultaneous data for height loss (in micron) coefficient of (a)
friction and frictional force. After every test, the mass loss
due to wear of each specimen was determined. The role of
applied load and Silicon content on wear behaviour of the
prepared composites was studied.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Microstructure
The microstructures of Al-12.6Si-2TiB2, Al-15Si-2TiB2
and Al-18Si-2TiB2 insitu composites are respectively shown
the Figure-3.1 and 3.2. The composite with eutectic
composition of the Al-Si binary alloy exhibits needle form of
Silicon uniformly scattered all over the matrix but in the Al- (b)
49068 S.K.Sahoo et al./ Elixir Materials Science 113 (2017) 49066-49069
The VHN and density histograms illustrate that AMC
with 18 % Si possesses maximum hardness with lowest
density. Increase in amount of silicon increases the hard
primary Silicon and eutectic Al-Si phases that resist the
indentation and provide high hardness values for the
composites.
3.4 Wear Analysis

(c)
Figure 3.2. SEM micrograph at (500X) of (a) Al-12.6Si-
2TiB2 (b) Al-15Si-2TiB2(c) Al-18Si 2TiB2.
3.2 XRD Analysis of in-situ Composite
The largest peaks in the obtained XRD results describe
the presence of Aluminium. Minor peaks signify the
existence of Silicon and TiB2 particles. It is also noticed that
the intensity of the peaks of Silicon increases with its increase
in the weight percentage in the base alloy. Very small peaks
of TiB2 in the XRD pattern corroborate the occurrence of
TiB2 in the selected alloy matrix.

Figure 3.3. XRD analysis of in-situ composites. Figure 3.5. (a)Wear rate of the composite as a function of
3.3 Hardness and Density wt% of Si and load, (b) Specific Wear rate of the
composite as a function of wt% of Si and load.
Figure 3.5 (a) shows wear rate of in-situ composites with
three varying wt% of Si, as at different applied load. The
wear rate found to decrease with increase in wt% of Si
because of improvement in hardness, refining and
modification of primary Silicon but the wear rate was brought
up with higher applied load and found to be maximum at 30N
load.
Figure 3.5 (b) shows specific wear rate of the composite
and a similar trend was observed for varying wt% of Si and
indicates the minimum specific wear rate in higher Silicon
content in all condition. Uniform dispersion of the TiB 2
particles due to stir casting method and control in growth of
primary Silicon due to TiB2 particles contributes to lower
specific wear rate in Al-18Si-2TiB2 composite samples.
4. Conclusions
Present investigation leads to the conclusions as follows:
1) Al-Si-TiB2 in-situ composites were successfully
synthesized by salt metal reaction using K2TiF6 and KBF4
salts through stir casting method.
2) Presence of TiB2 in the Al-Si matrix was confirmed by
XRD analysis.
3) Density test observations are in corroboration with
presence of different constituents of the prepared composite
samples.
Figure 3.4. (a) Variation of hardness with Silicon content 4) Higher hardness values were observed in composites with
(b) Variation of density with Silicon content of the higher amount of Silicon.
prepared in-situ composites.
49069 S.K.Sahoo et al./ Elixir Materials Science 113 (2017) 49066-49069
5) Wear rate and specific wear rate found to decrease at all the Transactions of The Indian Institute of Metals, Vol. 62, Issues
operating condition with higher Silicon content. 4-5, August-October 2009, pp. 357-360.
6) Microstructure study revealed the effect of TiB 2 in [8]. N.R. Rajasekaran, V. Sampath, Effect of In-Situ TiB2
modification and growth restriction of primary Silicon in Particle Addition on the Mechanical Properties of AA 2219
hyper-eutectic Al-Si alloy. Al Alloy Composite, Journal of Minerals & Materials
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