Dr. Ali Hubi Haleem et. al.

[1] prepared silicon carbide particles reinforced aluminum matrix composite by stir-casting process with different particle weight fraction (5 ,7, and 10%). The hardness, impact strength, and material toughness were evaluated. Under stir-casting, the silicon carbide particles were uniformly distributed in the aluminum and well bonded with aluminum matrix. The author concluded that: The hardness, impact strength, and material toughness of (AMCs ) are much better than the aluminum metal. In case of increased silicon carbide content, the hardness, and material toughness are enhanced, they are 1.84 and 2.1 times higher than that of the un reinforced aluminum at silicon carbide weight fraction (10%). The mechanical properties improvements are mainly due to the highly hardness silicon carbide particles. Dr. Ali Hubi Haleem , Newal Muhammad Dawood, Silicon Carbide Particle Reinforced Aluminum Matrix Composite Prepared by Stir-Casting.

Reddy et a1[2] investigated the wear and seizure behaviour of Al-Si alloys containing up to 23% Si, using a pin-on-disc rig and a wide load range (15-200 N). It was suggested that seizure occurred at a definitive temperature which was labelled as the critical seizure temperature. Additions of Si (>7 %) increased the seizure load and this temperature value. Reddy, S. A., Pramila Bai, B. N., Murthy, K. S. S. and Biswas, S. K., Wear and seizure of binary Al-Si alloys. Wear, 1994,171, 115-127. Pramiia Bai et al[3] studied dry sliding wear of an A356 alloy reinforced with SiCp (43 pm, 15 and 25 %), using a pin-on-disc machine, for various applied pressures up to 26 MPa. With increasing applied pressure the wear behaviour of the unreinforced alloy was dominated by extensive plastic flow of the alloy surface and significant wear debris formation. The addition of Sic reduced the wear for the applied pressure range examined. SIC particles were reported to minimise this plastic deformation on the wearing surface and promoted the formation of an ironrich layer on the composites surface. Reddy, S. A., Pramila Bai, B. N., Murthy, K. S. S. and Biswas, S. K., Mechanism of seizure of aluminiumsilicon alloys dry sliding against steel. Wear, 1995, 181-183,658-667.

Venkataraman and Sundararajan[4] also studied sliding wear rate and friction as a function of reinforcement volume fraction. Composite pins composed of an aluminium matrix reinforced with a range of SiCp content (O-40 vol.%) were slid against a hardened steel disc. Two loads were studied (52 and 122 N) and the sliding velocity was 1 m s-l. From this research it was concluded that wear rate decreased with increasing reinforcement volume fraction. Venkataraman, B. and Sundararajan, G., The sliding wear behaviour of Al-Sic particulate composites-I. Macrobehaviour. Acta. Metall., 1996, 44, 451-460.

Zhang et a1[5] employed Vickers microhardness Measurements and scratch testing to explore the influence of reinforcement particle size and content on friction and wear rate in an Al 6061 matrix containing either. This study utilised the following conditions: a scratch velocity of 6 mm s-, 6 mm wear track and a load of 10 N. MMCs reinforced with large particles revealed a lower wear rate. The effect of increasing reinforcement volume fraction resulted in an overall higher composite hardness and friction coefficient but a reduced wear rate. Composites containing small particles showed wear rates that were more sensitive to hardness, whereas the wear rates for materials containing large particles were more dependent on both hardness and particle fracture. The ratio of penetration depth to particle size (as defined by Wang and Rack27) was believed to be an important factor governing the tendency for the reinforcement particles to be removed by the indenter. Zhang, Z. F., Zhang, L. C. and Mai, Y.-W., Particle effects on friction and wear of aluminium matrix composites. J. Mater. Sci., 1995, 30, 5999-6004.

Ismail Ozdemir et.al [6] studied on the effect of forging on the properties of particulate-SiC reinforced aluminium-alloy composites. They have shown that the forged samples had strength values superior to those of the as-cast counterparts. After forging, the yield strength and tensile strength increased and there has improvement in ductility of the composite material. Ismail O zdemir, U mit Co cen and Kazim O nel, The effect of forging on the properties of particulate-SiC- reinforced aluminium-alloy composites, Composites Science and Technology, 60(2000),pp. 411-419.

W. He et.al [7] studied on the microstructure and mechanical properties of an Al/SiC composite cold die forged gear. They have observed that cold forging of SiC reinforced Aluminium based metal matrix composites reduce the grain size, defects, and the fracturing of the secondary phase and SiC particulates. Because of a cold plastic deformation, a large crystal distortion occurred resulting in the increase in the dislocation density that enhanced mechanical properties. The minimum isostatic pressure to prevent fracturing during cold die forging has found to be 650 MPa. He, W., Zhang, Y.F., Lee, K.S., Lu, L., Xie, S.S. and Jin, Q.J., Microstructure and mechanical properties of an Al/SiCp, composite cold die forged gear. Materials & Design.17(2), (1996),pp. 97-102 Li and Seah [8] investigated the machinability of MMC that contains different amounts of SiC, especially in terms of the size and ratio of particle reinforcement. According to the results, when the percentage of reinforcement element in MMC exceeds a critical point, the wear in settings will increase. Li, X. and Seah, W.K.H., Tool wear acceleration in relation to work piece reinforcement percentage in cutting of metal matrix composites. Wear, 2472(2001),161171.

J.T. Lin et.al [9] studied on machinability of a silicon carbide reinforced aluminium metal matrix composite (A 359/SiC/20p) by using PCD (polycrystalline diamond) inserts. They have examined the machinability at cutting speeds of 300,500,700 m/min. and feed rates of 0.1, 0.2 & 0.4 mm/rev., while the depth of cut has kept constant. They have observed that the cutting time decreases with increasing cutting speeds and feed rates. They also concluded that the surface roughness increases with increasing feed rates at constant cutting speed and the best surface finish has achieved when the tool has slightly worn rather than when it is fully sharp Lin, J.T., Bhattacharyya, D. and Lane, C., Machinability of a silicon carbide reinforced aluminium metal matrix composite, Wear, 181-483(1995), 883-888.