Effect of Particle Volume Fraction on the Tensile Properties of Composite Al6061/SiC Materials by Hot Extrusion

In the present study the effect of phase volume fraction on the reinforcement of microstructure and tensile properties of composite extrusion process Al6061/SiC has been studied. For this purpose, the base alloy Al6061 using pure aluminum ingots, silicon, of Al-50% Mg, Al-10% Cr and a thin copper rod was prepared. Next, the composite Al6061/5% SiC, Al6061/10% SiC, Al6061/15% SiC and Al6061/20% SiC through the addition of various amounts of silicon carbide particles was prepared by cast stirring. For composite samples containing different volume fractions of the reinforced SiC, hot extrusion operation was performed. Evaluation of microstructure using light and electron microscope was performed. During the study, it was observed that with the increasing amount of reinforcement, porosity and pores in the microstructure was increased. The extrusion process reduces the amount of porosity as well as creating fine reinforcement. In order to investigate the effect of extrusion process on the mechanical properties of the composite, tensile test were used. Results showed that, with increasing SiC weight to 5 percent, it will increase ultimate tensile strength of the composite. In addition, it is shown that the extrusion process will result a homogenous particles distribution which in turn will improve the tensile stress.