Influence of Ceramic Particle Size and Weight Percentage on the Mechanical Behavior and Tensile Fractography of Boron Carbide Reinforced Al2618 Alloy Composites

In this work an effect of reinforcement particle size and weight percentage on the mechanical behavior of Al2618 alloy composites were investigated. 63, 44 and 20 microns varying sized B 4 C particles reinforced Al2618 alloy composites were synthesized with 4 and 8 wt.% of B 4 C using novel two stage stir cast method. Al2618 alloy with 63, 44 and 20 micron sized B 4 C composites were studied for microstructural characterization by SEM and EDS. Further, to know the effect of particle size on the behavior of Al2618 alloy, mechanical properties and tensile fractography studies were carried out. Microstructural characterization revealed the uniform distribution of particles in the Al2618 alloy and elements were confirmed by EDS spectrums. With the addition of varying particle sized B 4 C all the mechanical properties were improved with reduction in the elongation. Further, Al2618 alloy with 4 and 8 wt.% of 20 micron sized B 4 C reinforced composites exhibited superior hardness, ultimate, yield strength and compression strength as compared to the 63 and 44 micron sized particles reinforced composites with slight decrease in the ductility. Further, brittle modes of fractured surfaces were observed in the B 4 C composites.