Effect of distribution of B4C on the mechanical behaviour of Al-6061/B4C composite

• Published in: Powder metallurgy Vol. 61; no. 4; pp. 293 - 300
• Main Authors: Asghar, Z., Latif, Muhammad Adnan, Rafi-ud-Din, Nazar, Zeeshan, Ali, Fahad, Basit, Abdul, Badshah, S., Subhani, Tayyab
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England Taylor & Francis 08.08.2018; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: Aluminium; ball mill; boron carbide; composite; mixing; Aluminium; ball mill; composite; mixing; boron carbide
• ISSN: 0032-5899; 1743-2901
• DOI: 10.1080/00325899.2018.1501890

In this work, the effect of mixing parameters on the distribution of B 4 C in 6061-Al alloy and its correlation with mechanical behaviour was studied. 6061-Al alloy powder was mixed with 10 mass-% B 4 C powder in a ball mill and powder rotator mixer by varying mixing time from 1 to 5 h. Mixing was performed in both wet and dry conditions in a ball mill while only dry condition was used in the powder rotator mixer. The green compacts were sintered at 630°C. The quadrat method was used to quantify the distribution of B 4 C particles in the microstructures of sintered Al/B 4 C composite. The results showed that the distribution was improved with mixing time but the density, hardness and compression strength of Al/B 4 C composites were reduced with time during ball milling. On the other hand, the distribution of reinforcement, density, hardness and compressive strength of Al/B 4 C composites was improved with mixing time in the powder rotator mixer.