Erosive Wear Behaviour of Redmud Filled Metal Matrix Composite

Abstract

The present work has been undertaken with an objective to explore the use of redmud as a reinforcing material as a low cost option. This redmud emerges as a major waste material during production of alumina from bauxite by the Bayer's process. It comprises oxides of iron, titanium, aluminum and silica along with some other minor constituents. The erosive wear of the newly developed composite is evaluated at different impingement angles from 30° to 90° with different pressures and stand off distances (SOD). The results show semi brittle behavior of the composite with maximum erosion rate at 45° impingement angle. The results also indicate that the redmud addition is beneficial in enhancing the erosion resistance of the composite in comparison to pure aluminum.