Sol–gel coated B4C particles reinforced 2024 Al matrix composites

Abstract

In this study, mechanical and wear properties of unreinforced 2024 Al alloy and composites with different vol.% of coated and uncoated boron carbide particles were experimentally investigated. It is seen that incorporation of hard particles to 2024 aluminium alloy contributes to the improvement of the mechanical properties and wear resistance of the base alloy to a great extent. Hard particles take part in resisting penetration, cutting, and grinding by the abrasive and protect the surface. It is noted that the increase in the weight fraction of B4C particles improves the wear resistance of the composites. Based on the weight loss data, composites with 30 vol.% B4C particles have the highest wear resistance among all the tested samples and unreinforced aluminium alloys give the lowest wear resistance. The results show that TiB2 coating of the B4C particles improved the mechanical properties. It is observed that the weight losses of the coated composites are less than those of the composites without coating.