View article

This paper investigates the manufacturing of aluminium–boron carbide composites using the stir casting method. Mechanical and physical properties tests to obtain hardness, ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and density are performed after solidification of specimens. The results show that hardness and tensile strength of aluminium based composite are higher than monolithic metal. Increasing the volume fraction of B₄C, enhances the tensile strength and hardness of the composite; however over-loading of B₄C caused particle agglomeration, rejection from molten metal and migration to slag. This phenomenon decreases the tensile strength and hardness of the aluminium based composite samples cast at 800 °C. For Al-15 vol% B₄C samples, the ultimate tensile strength and Vickers hardness of the samples that were cast at 1000 °C, are the highest among all composites. To predict the mechanical properties of …