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ScienceDirect Materials Today: Proceedings 3 (2016) 3734–3739
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ICMRA 2016
Impacts of Nano Particles on Fatigue Strength of Aluminum Based Metal Matrix Composites for Aerospace S.Divagar a,*, M.Vigneshwar a , S.T.Selvamani b b
a UG Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vel Tech Multi Tech Engineering College, Chennai-600062, Tamilnadu, India. Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vel Tech Multi Tech Engineering College, Chennai-600062, Tamilnadu, India.
Abstract Nanotechnology is spreading massively in the different demanding fields of engineering and medicines like defence, aerospace, automobiles, electronics, information and communication technology. This present research article deals with study of dual Nano sized particles reinforcement impacts on the fatigue life of AA7075-T651 grade aluminum alloy based Metal Matrix Nanocomposites (MMNCs) which is produced by emerging stir casting process. Nano particles are effectively enhancing the mechanical properties in the metal matrix composite than micron level particles because of its bonding nature. So for, the Nanoparticles were reinforced at three different volume fractions in parent metal such as Nano SiC 5%, 10% and 15% with constant Nano Al2O3 of 5% to produce the Nanocomposites. Fatigue behavior has become progressively more established as technology and it has developed a larger amount of equipment such as aircrafts, compressors, pumps, gas pipelines, oil tanks, pistons, turbines and many more subject to repeated loading and vibration. Therefore, in this investigation, the fatigue life of the produced MMNCs were investigated by advanced rotating beam fatigue testing machine to understand the impacts of reinforced Nano particles and the integrity of the MMNCs were examined by Optical Microcopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of International conference on materials research and applications-2016. Keywords: AA7075-T651 grade aluminum alloy; Nano SiC; Nano Al2O3; Nanocomposite; Fatigue strength.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-741-891-9942. E-mail address:
[email protected] 2214-7853 © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of International conference on materials research and applications-2016.
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1. Introduction Aluminum is the second-most plentiful element on earth and it became an economic competitor in the engineering applications very early at the 19th century itself. Aluminum and its alloys were widely used as the materials in engine components, transportation (aerospace, marine and automobiles) and structural applications [1]. “Composites are multifunctional material systems that provide characteristics not obtainable from any discrete material”, which had been stated by Jartiz [2]. Metal matrix composites provide a useful way to improve the mechanical properties of metal and alloys due to advent of stir casting techniques. Stir casting is one of the most popular method for producing metal matrix composite because the vertex had been used to create a good distribution of the reinforcement material in the matrix and has been known as a very promising route for manufacturing with required shape at a minimum cost with greater bonding between matrix and particulates which is being added [3, 4]. There have been several literatures on the micron level particles reinforced aluminum matrix composites. The technical interest and invention in the development of Nanocomposites increased rapidly rather than the MMC in recent years. Because, the Nano silicon carbide and Nano alumina particles in-situ composites offer an additional advantage of being workable, high corrosion resistance, good weldability, machinability and improved mechanical property [5]. Fatigue behavior of composite is greatly influenced by the nature of interface between matrix and reinforcement, particle size, volume fraction and processing route. Also, it is one of the most important factors to be studied for cyclic and dynamic applications [6]. It have been proved by few researchers that most of the published information on micro and Nanoparticle reinforced Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) are focused on tensile characteristics and tribological behavior only but the published information on fatigue characteristics of metal matrix Nanocomposites are very less. So for, the foremost work of this study has been focused on the production of metal matrix Nanocomposites by using stir casting process and to examine the impacts of SiC and Al 2O3 Nano size particulates reinforcement on the fatigue strength of the MMNCs incorporating advanced facilities. 2. Experimental work In the present work, stir casting was used to fabricate AA7075-T651 grade aluminum alloy with varying weight percentages of SiC (5, 10 and 15 wt. %) and a constant weight percentage of Al2O3 (5 wt. %) as reinforcements. The composition of AA7075-T651 with Nano SiC and Nano Al2O3 used in this research work are summarized in table 2 and the stir casting set up has been illustrated in Fig. 1 (c). In order to achieve good binding between the matrix and Nano particulates the mechanical stirrer rod was introduced [7]. Table 1. Mechanical properties of base metal Yield strength (MPa) 508
Tensile strength (MPa) 542
Fatigue strength (MPa) 173
Vicker’s Hardness (Hv) 160
Elongation (%) 12
Table 2. Compositions used for metal matrix Nano composites Composite MMNC 1 MMNC 2 MMNC 3
AA7075-T651 (%) 90 85 80
Nano SiC (%) 5 10 15
Nano Al203 (%) 5 5 5
The melt has been maintained at a temperature of 810 o C and the vortex has been created by using stirrer. After the successive addition of the Nano particulates the molten metal was poured into the preheated steel die which having a diameter of 20 mm and height 140 mm. The MMNCs are removed from the die after it had been solidified and the composite was machined by using CNC lathe to get required dimensions of the fatigue un-notched test specimens as per DIN50113 standard. The Fig.1 (a-d) shows the experimental work carried out for this investigation. The fatigue experiments were conducted at different stress levels and all the experiments were conducted under tensile and compression loading condition by rotating beam fatigue testing machine (stress ratio = -
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1) (INSTRON, UK; Model: 8801). Three specimens were tested at each condition and the average values of the test results were used to plot S-N curves. The nominal mechanical properties are shown in Table 1. Microstructure of the composite specimens was carried out using optical metallurgical microscope (MEIJI- JAPAN/MIL-7100).
a
c
b
d
Fig.1 The experimental work (a). Nano SiC and Nano Al2O3; (b). Stir casting set up; (C). Fatigue testing machine; (d) Fatigue test specimens & dimension in mm.
3. Results and Discussion 3.1. Reinforcement effects on fatigue strength A fatigue test is used to find the maximum load that a sample can endure for a specified number of cycles. To carry out a fatigue test the samples are loaded into a rotating beam fatigue test machine (stress ratio = -1) and loaded using the pre-determined test stress, then unloaded to zero load. This cycle of loading and unloading is then repeated until the end of the test is reached. The S-N curve in the high cycle fatigue region is represented by the basquin equation [8]. The fatigue strengths of different MMNCs are subjected to similar loading. So, it is convenient to express fatigue strength in terms of the stresses corresponding to particular lives, for example 10 5, 106 and 107 cycles on the mean S-N curve. The choice of reference life is quite arbitrary. SnN = A ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Traditionally, 2 X 106 cycles have been used and indeed some design codes refer to their S-N curves in terms of the corresponding stress range [9]. For these reasons, in this investigation, fatigue strength of welded joints at 2 X 10 6 cycles is taken as a basis for comparison. The stress corresponding to 2 X 106 cycles is taken as an indication of the
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endurance limit and it has been evaluated for all the MMNC and the corresponding results are interpreted in Fig.2. The results shows that the fatigue strength has been increased with the increase in volume percentage of Nano SiC particles. In view of these findings it may be interpreted as being due to premature fracture of the particles during loading. The addition up to SiCNP 5% + Al2O3NP 5% Nano particulate produced an initial increase in fatigue strength to about 4.642% above that of the unreinforced base metal. MMNC-2 is produced with the reinforcement of SiCNP 10% + Al2O3NP 5% average results shows that there has been 12.13% increase of fatigue strength from its base metal and the MMNC-3 produced with the reinforcement of SiCNP 15% + Al2O3NP 5% average results shows that there has been a 9.82% increase of fatigue strength from its base metal but further addition of particulate produced no further increase in strength. Instead, a slight progressive reduction in fatigue strength was observed. The Fig.3 shows the variation of fatigue strength of the Nanocomposite with variation in volume fraction of Nano SiC and Nano Al 2O3 (Constant). As the volume fraction of particulate increases, it changes the fatigue properties due to matrix strengthening from increased dislocation density. Those fine Nano sized particles were responsible for the high and improved fatigue strength. 3.2. Establishing the relationship between fatigue strength and Nano particles The percentage of Nano particle reinforced along with Fatigue strength of MMNC obtained from experimental results are related and are shown in Fig. 3. The experimental data points are fitted by a straight line. The straight line is governed by the following linear regression equations: Fatigue strength = 1.62 (% of SiC) + 173 (MPa) ----------------------------------------- (2) From Eq. 2, it can be inferred that the fatigue strength of MMNC is having directly proportional relationship with percentage of Nano particle reinforced in the AA7075-T651 grade metal matrix Nanocomposite. The Fig.4 shows the relationship between fatigue strength and percentage of Nanoparticles.
Fig.2. The fatigue life
Fig.3. Impacts of Nano particles
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Fig.4. The relationship between fatigue strength and Nanoparticles
a
b
50 µm Fig.5. Typical photomicrograph; (a). MMNC; (b). Parent metal.
Nanoparticles
Fig.6. SEM photograph of MMNCs
50 µm
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3.3. Characterization Mechanical properties of the composites are affected by various microstructural features. The excellent features of microstructures are relatively lower porosity in the casting which is an important aspect in cast metal matrix composites. The optical micrographs of Nanocomposites shows the dendritic cast structure consisting of Nano particles in a eutectic matrix than the unreinforced aluminum alloy and increasingly refined microstructural features from the observation. [13]. The Fig.5 (a) represents the optical microscopic view of the stir casted (wrought form) Nanocomposite which shows the distribution of Nano particles are relatively homogenous and without any defects. The figure 5 (b) shows the optical micrograph of the parent metal. The Nano level reinforced composite materials have a higher fatigue limit than the micron level reinforced composite materials because of their increased rigidity and ductility, which are characteristics that tend to increase fatigue life. The size of the particulates and volume fraction of reinforcements are the major factors which affects the fatigue life of the metal matrix Nano composites. The Fig.6 shows the SEM image of the Nanocomposites which clearly represents the Nanoparticles in the matrix and also the fracture surface shows the mixed mode quasi cleavage type fracture in the analysis. 4. Conclusion
The AA7075-T651 grade aluminum based Nano particles in-situ metal matrix Nano composites are successfully produced by stir casting route and evaluated. The fatigue strength of metal matrix Nanocomposites are having directly proportional relationship with percentage of Nano particle reinforcement. The metal matrix Nanocomposite comprising of AA7075-T651+SiC-10%+Al2O3-5% exhibits 12.13% higher fatigue strength than the base metal and other composites. The Nano particles reinforcement, distribution of grains and grain size will be responsible for the high and improved fatigue behavior of the produced Nanocomposite. The effects of reinforcement on fatigue life increases as the volume fraction of reinforcement increases.
Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the Chancellor Dr. R. Rangarajan, Vel Tech Dr.RR and Dr.SR Technical University, Chennai, India for the facilities provided to carry out this investigation. The authors wish to thank Dr.V.Balasubramanian, Director, CEMAJOR, Annamalai University, India for extending the facilities of metal joining and testing lab to carry out this investigation. References [1] Elwin L. Rooy, Introduction to Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys, ASM Handbook Vol-02. [2] A.E. Jartiz, Design, (1965)18. [3] J.Hashim, L.Looney, M.S.J.Hashmi, Metal matrix composites: production by the stir casting method, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 92 (1999) 1-7. [4] S.Naher, D.Babazon, L.Looney, Simulation of the stir casting process, Journal of Materials processing Technology, 143 (2003) 567-571. [5] K.Dash, et.Al Synthesis and characterization of aluminium–alumina micro- and nano-composites by spark plasma sintering Mat.Res.Bulletin, 48 (2013) 2535-2542. [6] S.T.Selvamani, M.Vigneshwar, S.Divagar, Establishing the Relationship between Fatigue and Tensile Strength of Frictionally Joined Metal Matrix Nanocomposite Autogeneous Joints for aerospace, Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals, Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals, 69 (2016) 431-437. DOI 10.1007/s12666-015-0791-6. [7] V.C.Uvaraja and N.Natarajan, Processing of stir cast Al 7075 Hybrid metal matrix composites and their characterization, International Review of Mechanical Engineering, 6, No.4 (2012) 724-729. [8] R.Jaccard, Fatigue crack propagation in aluminium, (1990) 1377−1390. [9] A. Sakthivel, R. Palaninathan, R. Velmurugan, and P. Raghothama Rao, Production and mechanical properties of SiC particle-reinforced 2618 Aluminum alloy composites, Journal of Materials Science, 43 (2008) 7047-7056.