Finding the optimum concentration of silicon carbide and graphite particles on the tensile strength, hardness and wear properties of aluminium matrix composites by RSM approach

Abstract

Abstract The present investigation aims to determine the optimum concentration of SiC and graphite reinforcements in AA7075 matrix based hybrid composites to obtain better tensile strength, hardness, coefficient of friction and wear rate using RSM. Reinforcement particles of SiC varied from 5% to 15% whereas graphite particles varied from 3% to 7% in the AA7075 matrix. A central composite design of RSM was adopted to develop the numerical model, and the statistical data were derived using analysis variances to evaluate adequacy of the model. Meanwhile, the conformity test has been conducted to validate the developed numerical model. Following this, the output responses of the optimized conditions were taken into account for the characterization of microstructure, fractured surface, and worn surface characters using optical microscope, and scanning electron microscope. The effect of SiC and graphite particles on the tensile strength, hardness, and wear properties and its result were reported in detail along with comparison of previous researchers.