Effect of Dct Copper Chill Plate on Al6061 Alloys Incorporated into Silicon Carbide Composites Via Stir Die Casting Process: An Experimental Study

Abstract

Aluminum-Silicon Carbide Metal Matrix Composites (Al/SiC) are materials that are formed by combining aluminum with silicon carbide particles as the reinforcement material. Al/SiC offer several advantages over traditional aluminum alloys, making them an attractive material for various applications.The research was conducted to fabricate the composite comprising of aluminum as the matrix and SiC particles as the reinforcement (size 40-50μm). The reinforcement being supplemented varies starting from 3 to 12 wt. % in stepladders of 3 wt. %. The development of composite was cast in sand mould patterns comprising chill blocks (DCT Copper and regular copper) remained verified for their material properties.It was observed that the maximum tensile strength for Al/SiC composites was obtained for specimens cast with a DCT copper chill, while it was minimal for Cu-chill. The increase in thermal conductivity of the chill plate leads to an increase in strength, whereas an increase in composite hardness results in higher tensile strength due to the finer grain structure obtained during the solidification process at a higher cooling rate.Furthermore, The micro-structure pictures clearly show that specimens cast with DCT-copper chill plates show small grains, while specimens cast with CU chill show coarse grains. It is further confirmed by comparing the micro-structures on the Cu chill side that the DCT-copper chill yields much finer grain sizes than the CU chill, which produces coarser grains.