Studies of forging on the aluminium-sea sand composites

Abstract

Abstract The goal of this research was to determine the impact of cold forging on the mechanical characteristics and microstructure of Al MMCs at various sea sand percentages and forging deformations. The wettability of sea sand was improved by applying an electroless coating just before the stir-casting procedure. Using the stir casting technique, a composite material of Al6061 and sea sand was fabricated at several percentages of sea sand in weight, such as 2, 4, and 6%. In addition, open-die forging in cold settings was studied to learn more about the deformation characteristics of Al6061-sea sand composite. Composites were tested for density, porosity, microstructure, macrostructure, and hardness. The behaviour of microstructures was studied with an optical microscope. Brinell hardness readings taken according to ASTM E-10 were used to characterize the composite. The stir casting method was used to investigate and analyse the samples characteristics. More sea sand particles are distributed throughout the matrix as the composite’s density decreases. Increases in porosity are associated with an increase in reinforcement percentage, as this leads to more matrix-reinforcement surface contact and hence more porosity. The hardness diminishes with an increase in the proportion of sea sand particles. The mechanical qualities of the composite were enhanced by an oxide compound found on the sea sand. Evidence suggests that forging enhances mechanical and microstructure qualities.