Grinding assisted rotary disc ecdm on stir casted mmc doctor of philosophy

Abstract

newline The demand of high strength to weight ratio materials is increasing day-by-day. Aluminium and its alloys are such materials which have superior properties such as light weight, corrosion resistance, wear resistance. These properties makes them suitable for various industrial applications viz. automobile and aerospace. Therefore, investigations in the area of materials development and its processing is being concentrated toward the search of new materials development. It has been found that Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) has numerous industrial applications. Properties of MMCs are far superior to their monolithic counterparts. These have high specific strength, improved wear and corrosion resistance. newlineAluminium being a light material have become an obvious choice for development of composites. Casting, mechanical alloying, powder metallurgy and vapour deposition over the substrate are some of the methods used to fabricate these material. Methods other than casting require expensive tooling which increases the overall cost of the product. Casting process design is relatively simple. But the challenges associated with this is the distribution of reinforcement in the matrix and porosity in the product. Stir casting is an established technique to fabricate metal composites. However, wetting of ceramic reinforcement is a major challenge in fabrication of MMC s through this route. Poor wetting leads to weak interfacial bonding which reduces the strength of material, wear resistance and other mechanical properties. Furthermore, maintaining uniformity in distribution of the reinforced particles for small sized product are highly challenging. newlineSecondary processing of MMCs is always required to make the final product. The presence of reinforcement particles creates obstacle in machining of MMCs. This limits many industrial applications of MMCs. Both the traditional and advanced machining methods are being used for machining of MMCs. There are many factors that affect the machining MMCs. These are reinforcemen