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This paper focuses on the material characterization of the A356-T6 aluminum alloy wheel, which is mandatory when an experimental correlation is required with respect to the finite element analysis performed. There is always a chance that the finite element analysis results differ from experimental results if the material properties used for analysis are not developed from the component due to variation in the manufacturing processes and chemical compositions. Hence, the procedure for developing material data is presented, and the respective applicable standards are mentioned. The method of generating a stress–strain curve from the specimens extracted from the alloy wheel is presented. Finite element analysis is performed for impact loads using the developed material stress–strain curve and reference material of the same composition and heat treatment process. The finite element results for both the materials are compared to study the variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims at finding the residual stresses on aluminum hybrid composites during turning operation. The composites with varying percentage by weight reinforcement of 2, 4, 6 and 8 RHA and SiC in equal proportions were fabricated using two stage stir casting process. X-ray diffraction was used to study the residual stresses on the surface layer of the machined surface. It was observed that the residual stresses generated during casting were considerably larger when compared to the stresses generated during machining of composites. It was also noticed that the residual stresses were found to decrease with the increase in the reinforcement and increases with the increase in cutting speed. The related mechanisms are explained and presented in this work.

A double stir casting process was used to fabricate aluminum composites reinforced with various volume fractions of 2, 4, 6, and 8 wt% RHA and SiC particulates in equal proportions. Properties such as hardness, density, porosity and mechanical behavior of the unreinforced and Al/x%RHA/x%SiC (x = 2, 4, 6, and 8 wt%) reinforced hybrid composites were examined. Scanning electron microscope (model JSM-6610LV) was used to study the microstructural characterization of the composites. It was observed that the hardness and porosity of the hybrid composite increased with increasing reinforcement volume fraction and density decreased with increasing particle content. It was also observed that the UTS and yield strength increase with an increase in the percent weight fraction of the reinforcement particles, whereas elongation decreases with the increase in reinforcement. The increase in strength of the hybrid composites is probably due to the increase in dislocation density. A systematic study of the base alloy and composites was done using the Brinell hardness measurement and the corresponding age hardening curves were obtained. It was observed that in comparison to that of the base aluminum alloy, the precipitation kinetics of the composites were accelerated by adding the reinforcement. This effectively reduced the time for obtaining the maximum hardness by the aging heat treatment.

In this work, the silicon carbide (SiC) and titanium diboride (TiB2) reinforced as-cast Zn-Al-Cu alloy-based hybrid composites were produced with ultrasonic-assisted stir casting. The corrosion behavior of as-cast Zn-Al-Cu/TiB2/SiC hybrid composites with varying 0, 5, 10, and 15 weight percent of SiC + TiB2 particulates in Zn-Al-Cu matrix alloy was investigated in this study, The effect of additional reinforcements content on the corrosion behavior of hybrid composites with respect to Zn-Al-Cu alloy was investigated. The corrosion rate of hybrid composites was taken by using potentiodynamic polarization equipment (with 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution). The potentiodynamic polarization test findings showed that the hybrid composites' uniform and localized corrosion resistances were enhanced by the addition of dual reinforcements. As the weight fraction of the SiC/TiB2 reinforcement increases, weak microgalvanic cells that form between the constituent phases of the fabricated as-cast Zn-Al-Cu hybrid composites weaken, improving their resistance to uniform and localized corrosion. The results revealed that the corrosion rate values were reduced to 28.88% at 15% of reinforcement when compared to the base alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxyapatite is a very attractive material for artificial implants and human tissue restorations because they accelerate bone growth around the implant. The hydroxyapatite nanocomposites (HAp/TiO2) were produced by using high energy ball milling. X-ray diffraction studies revealed the formation of HAp and TiO2 composites. Cubic-like crystals with boundary morphologies were observed; it was also found that the grain size gradually increased with the increase in TiO2 content. It was found that the mechanical properties (hardness, Young's modulus, fracture toughness, flexural strength, and compression strength)of the composites significantly improved with the addition of TiO2, which was sintered at 1200℃. These properties were then also correlated with the microstructure of the composites. This paper investigates the effect of titania (TiO2 = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt%) addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) nanocomposites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]