The influence of sustainable reinforcing particulates on the density, hardness and corrosion resistance of AA 6063 matrix composites

The need for the fabrication of sustainable aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) is being sought after as practical alternatives to conventional metals and their alloys. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of sustainable materials on the mechanical, physical and corrosion resistant properties of AA 6063. The weight fraction of the hybrid reinforcements was varied at 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 wt.%. For each variation, the fly ash and eggshells were weighed equally. The fabrication route selected was stir casting. The analysis of the density showed that the property decreased with increasing weight fraction of the hybrid reinforcements. Evaluation of the microhardness revealed hardness values of 78.13, 81.19, 81.54, 82.14, and 86.71 HV for the base metal, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 wt.% samples respectively. The corrosion resistant properties were studied in 3.5 wt.% NaCl medium. The investigation showed that the reinforced AMCs exhibited improved corrosion resistance compared to the base metal. However, the 7.5 wt.% sample exhibited the least corrosion rate of 8.649 X 10-5 g/h.