Experimental Investigation on Mechanical Properties of Al6061 Alloy Reinforced with Tungsten Carbide

Abstract

Aluminium alloys are most predominant non-ferrous metals employed for vigorous applications due to their desirable and exceptional mechanical properties. In this work, an effort has been made to enhance the mechanical and tribological properties of aluminium 6061 metal matrix which has excellent corrosion resistance to atmospheric and seawater reinforced with tungsten carbide (size 5μm) through stir casting technique. Composite is prepared by keeping base Al 6061 alloy constant and varying Tungsten carbide (WC) weight percentage from 0-6% in steps of 2% respectively. Results were obtained by conducting several tests like Tensile, Hardness, and wear and they revealed that all properties are enhanced with an addition of tungsten carbide (WC) and they are maximum at 6% of WC. The maximum values obtained are tensile strength: 192.37N/mm2, Hardness: 103.5BHN and minimum wear is obtained as 11 microns. Microstructure study has been conducted on each prepared composites and the results reveal that the distribution of reinforced tungsten carbide (WC) particle is uniform at all the compositions.