Al2014-Alumina Aerospace Composites: Particle Size Impacts on Microstructure, Mechanical, Fractography, and Wear Characteristics

Bharath Vedashantha Murthy; Virupaxi Auradi; Madeva Nagaral; Manjunath Vatnalmath; Nagaraj Namdev; Chandrashekar Anjinappa; Shanawaz Patil; Abdul Razak; Abdullah H Alsabhan; Shamshad Alam; Mohammad Obaid Qamar

doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c01163

Al2014-Alumina Aerospace Composites: Particle Size Impacts on Microstructure, Mechanical, Fractography, and Wear Characteristics

ACS Omega. 2023 Mar 27;8(14):13444-13455. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c01163. eCollection 2023 Apr 11.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, RNS Institute of Technology, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Bengaluru 560098, Karnataka, India.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Tumakuru 572103, Karnataka, India.
³ Aircraft Research and Design Centre, HAL, Bengaluru 560037, Karnataka, India.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, APS Polytechnic, Bengaluru 560082, Karnataka, India.
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bangalore Institute of Technology, Bengaluru 560004, Karnataka, India.
⁶ Department of Mechanical, School of Engineering, REVA University, Bengaluru 560063, Karnataka, India.
⁷ Department of Mechanical Engineering, P. A. College of Engineering (Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi), Mangaluru 574153, Karnataka, India.
⁸ Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Department of Civil Engineering (Environmental Science & Engineering), Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, South Korea.

Abstract

An Al2014-alumina (Al₂O₃) composite's characteristics are significantly influenced by the reinforcement particle size variation. Therefore, this study examines the microstructure, mechanical, fractography, and wear performance of an Al2014-Al₂O_3p composite made using a unique two-stage stir casting method and various alumina weight fractions (9, 12, and 15 wt %). Three categories of alumina particle size are used, i.e., fine particle size (FPS, 8 μm), intermediate particle size (IPS, 53 μm), and coarse particle size (CPS, 88 μm). The shapes of the composites were characterized using scanning electron microscopy. According to scanning electron microscopic analyses of the microstructure, the FPS dispersion was more uniform than IPS and CPS, whereas CPS causes agglomeration. Additionally, the studies show that the FPS composite outperformed CPS and IPS composites in terms of mechanical characteristics and wear performance. The fractography study shows conical and equiaxed dimple failure in the Al2014 matrix and the circular cavities.