Investigations of the wear and corrosion characteristics of Al-SiC-WC hybrid composites produced via stir casting

Abstract

In this research, AA6061 T6 composites were manufactured using a stir casting technique reinforced with silicon carbide and tungsten carbide. Three distinct compositions of samples were created by altering the weight proportion of silicon carbide and tungsten carbide (0%, 4%, and 8%). The powders were subjected to SEM analysis and Laser Particle Size analysis, followed by planetary ball milling. EDX analysis and XRD analysis were conducted to verify the chemical composition of the particles. Dry sliding wear characteristics were tested using pin-on-disc equipment and wear morphologies were investigated using SEM. Wear rate measured as volume of stock removed per meter length was found to be 1.26 × 10⁻³ mm³/m for 8% reinforced composites compared to 2.56 × 10⁻³ mm³/m for the basic material. The aqueous NaCl spray method was adopted to examine the corrosion resistance behaviour of composites. The investigations on corrosion were analyzed with potentiodynamic studies and found that reinforced composites show resistant to corrosion. 8% SiC, WC reinforced composites show improved corrosion resistance compared with unreinforced alloy. The research data shows that the material can be produced and employed in automotive, aerospace, braking application, marine environments etc.