CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 ALUMINIUM

Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, and the third
most abundant element, after oxygen and silicon. It makes up about 8% by
weight of the Earth's solid surface. Due to easy availability, High strength to
weight ratio, easy machinability, durable, ductile and malleability aluminium is
the most widely used non-ferrous metal in 2005 was 31.9 million tonnes.
1.1.1 Advantages of Aluminium
 Light Weight, Strong and Long-Lasting
Aluminium is a very light metal with a specific weight of 2.7gm/cm3,
about a third that of steel. For example the use of aluminium in vehicles reduces
dead-weight and energy consumption while increasing load capacity. Its
strength can be adapted to the application required by modifying the
composition of its alloys. The application of light weight, strong and long
lasting aluminium alloy is shown in Figure 1.1 & 1.2.

Fig 1.1 Aluminium used in ship Fig1.2 Aluminium used in aeroplane

 Highly Corrosion Resistant
Aluminium naturally generates a protective oxide coating and is highly
corrosion resistant. It is particularly useful for applications where protection and
conservation are required. The application of highly corrosion resistance

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aluminium alloy is shown in Figure 1.3 & 1.4.

Fig 1.4 Aluminium used in Industry

 Excellent Heat and Electricity Conductor

Aluminium is an excellent heat and electricity conductor and in relation
to its weight is almost twice as good a conductor as copper. This has made
aluminium the most commonly used material in major power transmission lines.
The application of excellent heat and electricity conductor is shown in Fig 1.5.

Fig 1.5 Aluminium used in Wires

 Good Reflective Properties

Aluminium is a good reflector of visible light as well as heat, and that

together with its low weight makes it an ideal material for reflectors, for
example, light fittings or rescue blankets. The application of good reflective

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properties is shown in Figure 1.6.

Fig 1.6 Aluminium used in Rescue Blanket

 Very Ductile
Aluminium is ductile and has a low melting point and density. In a
molten condition it can be processed in a number of ways. Its ductility allows
products of aluminium to be basically formed close to the end of the product.
The application of ductility is shown in Figure 1.7.

Fig 1.7 Aluminium Used as Bar

 Completely Impermeable and Odourless

Aluminium foil, even when it is rolled to only 0.007 mm thickness, is still
completely impermeable and let’s neither light aroma nor taste substances out.
Moreover, the metal itself is non-toxic and releases no aroma or taste substance
which makes it ideal for packaging sensitive products such as food or
pharmaceuticals. The application of completely impermeable and odourless

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aluminium alloy is shown in Figure 1.8.

Fig 1.8 Aluminium Used in Packaging

 Totally Recyclable

Aluminium is 100 percent recyclable with no downgrading of its

qualities. The re-melting of aluminium requires little energy: only about 5
percent of the energy required to produce the primary metal initially is needed
in the recycling process. Pure Aluminium has also some limits according to
properties so to enhance Aluminium properties aluminium alloys are used.

1.2 ALUMINIUM ALLOYS

Selecting the right alloy for a given application entails considerations of its
tensile strength, density, ductility, formability, workability, weld ability, and
corrosion resistance. Aluminium alloys are alloys in which aluminium (Al) is
the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium,
manganese, silicon, and zinc. There are two principal classifications, namely
casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the
categories heat-treatable and non-heat-treatable. To meet various requirements,
aluminium is alloyed with copper, manganese, magnesium, zinc and silicon as
major alloying elements. About 85% of aluminium is used for wrought
products, for example rolled plate, foils and extrusions. Cast aluminium alloys
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yield cost effective products due to its low melting point, although they
generally have lower tensile strengths than wrought alloys. The most important
cast aluminium alloy system is Al-Si, where the high levels of silicon (4.0% to
13%) contribute to give good casting characteristics. Aluminium alloys are
widely used in engineering structures and components where light weight or
corrosion resistance is required. To meet various requirements, aluminium is
alloyed with copper, manganese, magnesium, zinc and silicon as major alloying
elements. Wrought aluminium alloys are used in the shaping processes: rolling,
forging, extrusion, pressing, stamping. Cast Aluminium alloys are comes after
sand casting, permanent mould casting, die casting, investment casting,
centrifugal casting, squeeze casting and continuous casting. Aluminium alloys
are classified as shown in Figure 1.9.

Aluminium Alloys

Wrought Alloys Cast Alloys

Fig 1.9 Classification of Aluminium Alloy

1.2.1 Cast Aluminium Alloys

Aluminium and its alloys are used in a variety of cast and wrought form
and conditions of heat treatment. Forgings, sections, extrusions, sheets, plate,
strip, foils and wire are some of the examples of wrought form while castings
are available as sand, pressure and gravity die-castings e.g. Al-Si and Al-Mg
alloys.
The designation of Cast Aluminium alloy is shown in Table 1.1.

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 Alloy Designation Details
1XX.X 99% Pure Aluminium
2XX.X Cu containing alloy
3XX.X Si, Cu/Mg containing alloy
4XX.X Si containing alloy
5XX.X Mg containing alloy
6XX.X Zn containing alloy
Table 1.1 Designation of Cast Aluminium alloys

1.2.2 Wrought Aluminium Alloys

To meet various requirements, aluminium is alloyed with copper,
manganese, magnesium, zinc and silicon as major alloying elements. The
designation of wrought aluminium alloy is shown in Table 1.2.
Alloy Designation Details
1XX.X 99% Pure Aluminium
2XX.X Cu containing alloy
3XX.X Mn containing alloy
4XX.X Si containing alloy
5XX.X Mg containing alloy
6XX.X Mg and Si containing alloy
7XX.X Mg and Si containing alloy
8XX.X Other alloys
Table 1.2 Designation of Wrought Aluminium alloys

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1.3 DESIGNATION OF ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
The Aluminium Association of America has classified the wrought
aluminium alloys according to a four-digit system. The classification is adopted
by the International Alloy Development System (IADS). Table 1.3 gives the
basis of designation of wrought and cast aluminium alloys in the four-digit
system. The first digit identifies the alloy type the second digit shows the
specific alloy modification. The last two digits indicate the specific aluminium.
Aluminium Alloy in present Thesis work is shown in Table 1.4.

Letter Condition of alloy

F As-fabricated
O Annealed
T4 Solution treated
T6 Solution treated and aged
Table 1.3 Temper Designation System

Chemical Composition Weight Percentage

Copper 0.1
Magnesium 0.10 max.
Silicon 11
Iron 0.6
Manganese 0.5 max
Nickel 0.1 max
Zinc 0.1 max
Tin 0.05 max
Titanium 0.2 max
Aluminium Remainder
Table1.4 Alloys conforms to British Standards Cast Aluminium

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 1.4 APPLICATION OF ALUMINUM ALLOY
The application of aluminium alloy is shown in Table 1.5

Aluminium Alloy Characteristics Common Use

Alloy
1050/1200 Non heat treatable. Good formability, weld ability Food and chemical
and corrosion resistant. industry.
2014 Heat-treatable. High strength. Non wieldable. Poor Air Frames.
corrosion resistance.
5251/5052 Non-heat treatable. Medium strength work Vehicle panelling,
hardening alloy. Good weld ability, Formability structure exposed to
and corrosion resistance. marine atmospheres,
mine cages.
6063 Heat-treatable. Medium strength alloy. Good weld Architectural
ability and corrosion resistance. Used for intricate extrusions (internal
profiles. and external) window
frames, irrigation
pipes.
6061/6082 Heat-treatable. Properties very similar to 6082. Stressed structural
Preferable as air quenchable, therefore has less members, bridges,
distortion problems. Not notch sensitive. cranes, roof trusses,
beer barrels.
7075 Heat-treatable. Age hardens naturally, therefore Armoured vehicles,
will recover properties in heat-affected Zone after military bridges,
welding. Susceptible to stress corrosion. motor cycle and
bicycle frames.

Table 1.5 Application of Aluminium alloys

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1.5 INTRODUCTION TO COMPOSITE MATERIALS
Composites are materials in which two phases are combined, usually with
strong interfaces between them. They usually consist of a continuous phase
called the matrix and discontinuous phase in the form of fibres, whiskers or
particles called the reinforcement. Considerable interest in composites has been
generated in the past because many of their properties can be described by a
combination of the individual properties of the constituent phases and the
volume fraction in the mixture. Composite materials are gaining wide spread
acceptance due to their characteristics of behaviour with their high strength to
weight ratio. The interest in metal matrix composites (MMCs) is due to the
relation of structure to properties such as specific stiffness or specific strength.
Like all composites, aluminium matrix composites are not a single material but
a family of materials whose stiffness, density and thermal and electrical
properties can be tailored composites materials are high stiffness and high
strength, low density, high temperature stability, high electrical and thermal
conductivity, adjustable coefficient of thermal expansion, corrosion resistance,
improved wear resistance etc. The matrix holds the reinforcement to form the
desired shape while the reinforcement improves the overall mechanical
properties of the matrix. When designed properly, the new combined material
exhibits better strength than would each individual material.

1.6 CLASSIFICATION OF COMPOSITES

Particulate composites consist of particles immersed in matrices such as
alloys and ceramics. They are usually isotropic since the particles are added
randomly. Particulate composites have advantages such as improved strength,
increased operating temperature and oxidation resistance etc. Typical examples
include use of aluminium particles in rubber, silicon carbide particles in
aluminium. Flake composites provide advantages such as high out-of plane
flexural modulus, higher strength, and low cost.

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1.6.1 Natural Composites
Several natural materials can be grouped under natural composites. E.g.
bones, wood, shells, pearlite (steel which is mixture of a phase FeC). The
example of Natural composites are shown in Figure 1.10 & 1.11.

Fig 1.10 Abalone shell Fig 1.11 Scallop

shell

1.6.2 Man-Made Composites

Man-made composites are produced by combining two or more materials
in definite proportions under controlled conditions. E.g. Mud mixed straw to
produce stronger mud mortar and bricks, Plywood, Chipboards, Decorative
laminates etc. The example of man-made
composites are shown in Figure 1.12.

Figure 1.12 Man-made composites used in Airplane and Plywood

1.7 MATRIX (PRIMARY PHASE)

The selection of suitable matrix alloys is mainly determined by the

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intended application of the composite material.
I. For the development of light metal composite materials that are mostly easy
to process, conventional light metal alloys are applied as matrix materials.
Mainly Aluminium Alloy is used for Light weight Composites.
II. The matrix is the monolithic material into which the reinforcement is
embedded, and is completely continuous. This means that there is a path
through the matrix to any point in the material, unlike two materials sandwiched
together.
III. In structural applications, the matrix is usually a lighter metal such as
Aluminium, magnesium, or titanium, and provides a compliant support for the
reinforcement. In high temperature applications, cobalt and cobalt-nickel alloy
matrices are common.

1.8 REINFORCEMENT (SECONDARY PHASE)

The reinforcement material is embedded into the matrix. The
reinforcement does not always serve a purely structural task (reinforcing the
compound), but is also used to change physical properties such as wear
resistance, friction coefficient, or thermal conductivity. The reinforcement can
be either continuous, or discontinuous. Discontinuous MMCs can be isotropic,
and can be worked with standard metalworking techniques, such as extrusion,
forging or rolling. In addition, they may be machined using conventional
techniques, but commonly would need the use of poly crystalline diamond
tooling (PCD). Continuous reinforcement uses monofilament wires or fibres
such as carbon fibre or silicon carbide. Because the fibres are embedded into the
matrix in a certain direction, the result is an anisotropic structure in which the
alignment of the material affects its strength. One of the first MMCs used boron
filament as reinforcement. Discontinuous reinforcement uses "whiskers", short
fibres, or particles. Examples of some current application of composites include
the tires, diesel piston, brake-shoes and pads. Examples of different

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reinforcement of aluminium alloy are shown in Table 1.6. Comparison between
reinforced & unreinforced aluminium alloy is done in Table 1.7.
Non Metallic Metallic
Aluminium Beryllium
Boron Niobium
Silicon Carbide Stainless steel
Table 1.6 Reinforcement of Aluminium Alloy

Advantages Disadvantages
Compared to Un- Reinforced Aluminium Alloys
Higher Specific Strength Lower toughness and ductility
High specific stiffness
Improved high temperature
creep resistance
Improved Wear resistance
Compared To Polymer Matrix Composites
High transverse strength Less developed Technology
High Toughness Smaller Database Technology
High Damage tolerance Higher Cost
Improved environmental
resistance
High thermal and electrical
conductivity
High temperature capability

Compared Ceramic Matrix Composites

High Toughness and Ductility Inferior high temperature capability

Ease of Fabrication
Lower cost
Table 1.7 Comparison b/w Reinforced & Un- Reinforced Aluminium Alloy
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1.9 PROCESSING OF MMCS
Accordingly to the temperature of the metallic matrix during processing
the fabrication of MMCs can be classified into three categories:
(a) Liquid phase processes,
(b) Solid state processes, and
(c) Two phase (solid-liquid) processes

1.9.1 Liquid Metal Techniques

Liquid state fabrication of Metal Matrix Composites involves incorporation
of dispersed phase into a molten matrix metal, followed by its Solidification. In
order to provide high level of mechanical properties of the composite, good
interfacial bonding (wetting) between the dispersed phase and the liquid matrix
should be obtained. Wetting improvement may be achieved by coating the
dispersed phase p articles (fibres). Proper coating not only reduces interfacial
energy, but also prevents chemical interaction between the dispersed phase and
the matrix. The simplest and the most cost effective method of liquid state
fabrication is Stir Casting. The methods of liquid state fabrication of Metal
Matrix Composites are:
 Stir casting
 Infiltration
 Gas Pressure Infiltration
 Squeeze Casting Infiltration
 Pressure Die Infiltration
 Deposition Processes

[Link] Stir Casting Process

Stir Casting is a liquid state method of composite materials fabrication, in
which a dispersed phase (ceramic particles, short fibres) is mixed with a molten
matrix metal by means of mechanical stirring. The liquid composite material is
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then cast by conventional casting methods and may also be processed by
conventional Metal forming technologies. The Stir Casting set up is shown in
Figure 1.13.

Fig 1.13 Stir Casting set up

[Link] Infiltration
Infiltration is a liquid state method of composite materials fabrication, in
which a preformed dispersed phase e.g. ceramic particles, fibres, are soaked in a
molten matrix metal, which fills the space between the dispersed phase
inclusions. The motive force of an infiltration process may be either capillary
force of the dispersed phase or an external pressure applied to the liquid matrix
phase. Infiltration is one of the methods of preparation of tungsten-copper
composites. The principal steps of the technology are as follows:
 Tungsten powder preparation with average particle size of about 1-5
micron.
 Optional step: Coating the powder with nickel. Total nickel content is
about 0.04%.
 Mixing the tungsten powder with a polymer binder.
 Compacting the powder by a moulding method. Compaction should
provide the predetermined porosity level of the tungsten structure.
 Solvent rebinding and sintering the green compact at 1204-1315°C in
hydrogen atmosphere for 2 hrs. Placing the sintered part on a copper plate
or powder in the infiltration/sintering furnace.

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  Infiltration of the sintered tungsten skeleton porous structure with copper
at 110-1260 °C in either hydrogen atmosphere or vacuum for 1 hour.

[Link] Gas Pressure Infiltration

Gas pressure infiltration is a forced infiltration method of liquid phase
fabrication of metal matrix composites, using a pressurized gas for applying
pressure on the molten metal and forcing it to penetrate into a preformed
dispersed phase.

Figure 1.14 Gas Pressure Infiltration

This method allows using non-coated fibres due to short contact time of the
fibres with the hot metal. In contrast to the methods using mechanical force,
Gas Pressure Infiltration results in low damage of the fibres. The Figure 1.14
shows the Schematic view of Gas pressure infiltration.

[Link] Squeeze Pressure Infiltration

Squeeze casting infiltration is a forced infiltration method of liquid phase
fabrication of metal matrix composites, using a ram for applying pressure on the
molten metal and forcing it to penetrate into a dispersed phase, placed into the
lower fixed mould part. Infiltration method is similar to the squeeze casting
technique used for metal alloys casting. Fig1.15 shows the Schematic view of
squeeze casting Infiltration.

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 Figure 1.15 Squeeze Pressure Infiltration

Squeeze casting infiltration process has the following steps:

 A perform of dispersed phase is placed into the lower fixed mould half.
 A molten metal in a predetermined amount is poured into the lower
mould half.
 The upper movable mould half (ram) moves downwards and forces the
liquid met alto infiltrate the perform.
 The infiltrated material solidifies under the pressure.
 The part is removed from the mould by means of the ejector pin.

[Link] Pressure Infiltration

Pressure Die Infiltration is a forced infiltration method of liquid phase
fabrication of Metal Matrix Composites, using a Die casting technology, when a
preformed dispersed phase is placed into a die which is then filled with a molten
metal entering the die through a spruce and penetrating into the perform under
the pressure of a movable piston.

1.10 SILICON CARBIDE AS REINFORCEMENT

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 Silicon Carbide is the only chemical compound of carbon and silicon. It
was originally produced by a high temperature electro-chemical reaction of sand
and carbon. Silicon carbide is an excellent abrasive and has been produced and
made into grinding wheels and other abrasive products for over one hundred
years. Today the material has-been developed into a high quality technical grade
ceramic with very good mechanical properties. It is used in abrasives,
refractoriness, ceramics, and numerous high-performance applications. The
material can also be made an electrical conductor and has applications in
resistance heating, flame igniters and electronic components. Silicon carbide is
composed of tetrahedral of carbon and silicon atoms with strong bonds in the
crystal lattice. This produces a very hard and strong material. Silicon particles
are shown in Figure 1.16.

Figure 1.16 Silicon Carbides as reinforcement

1.10.1 Properties of Silicon Carbide
 Low density
 High strength
 Low thermal expansion
 High thermal conductivity
 High hardness
 High elastic modulus
 Excellent thermal shock resistance

Detailed properties of Sic are shown in Table 1.8.

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 Properties Value Properties
Melting point(°C) 2200-2700 Linear coefficient of
expansion (10-6 K)
Limit of application 1400-1700 Fracture toughness
(°C) (MPa-m1/2)
Moh’s Hardness 9 Crystal Structure
Density(g/cm3) 3.2 Linear coefficient of
expansion(10-6 K)
Table 1.8 Properties of Silicon Carbide

1.11 TENSILE STRENGTH

Tensile properties dictate how the material will react to forces being
applied in tension. A tensile test is a fundamental mechanical test where a
carefully prepared specimen is loaded in a very controlled manner while
measuring the applied load and the elongation of the specimen over some
distance. Tensile tests are used to determine the modulus of elasticity, elastic
limit, elongation, proportional limit, and reduction in area, tensile strength, yield
point, yield strength and other tensile properties. The main product of a tensile
test is aloud versus elongation curve which is then converted into a stress versus
strain curve. Since both the engineering stress and the engineering strain are
obtained by dividing the load and elongation by constant values, the load-
elongation curve will have the same shape as the engineering stress-strain curve.
The stress-strain curve relates the applied stress to the resulting strain and each
material has its own unique stress-strain curve. A typical engineering stress-
strain curve is shown below Figure 1.17. If the true stress, based on the actual
cross-sectional area of the specimen, is used. They are tabulated for common
materials such as alloys, composite materials, ceramics, plastics, and wood.
Tensile strength is defined as a stress, which is measured as force per unit area.

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 Fig 1.17
Stress Strain Curve of Ductile Material

1.11.1 Yield Point

In ductile materials, at some point, the stress-strain curve deviates from
the straight-line relationship and Law no longer applies as the strain increases
faster than the stress. From this point on in the tensile test, some permanent
deformation occurs in the specimen and the material is said to react plastically
to any further increase in load or stress. The material will not return to its
original, unstressed condition when the load is removed. In brittle materials,
little or no plastic deformation occurs and the material fractures near the end of
the linear-elastic portion of the curve. With most materials there is a gradual
transition from elastic to plastic behaviour, and the exact point at which plastic
deformation begins to occur is hard to determine. Therefore, various criteria for
the initiation of yielding are used depending on the sensitivity of the strain
measurements and the intended use of the data. For most engineering design
and specification applications, the yield strength is used. The yield strength is
defined as the stress required producing a small, amount of plastic deformation.

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The offset yield strength is the stress corresponding to the intersection of the
stress-strain curve and a line parallel to the elastic part of the curve offset by a
specified strain (in the US the offset is typically0.2% for metals and 2% for
plastics).To determine the yield strength using this offset, the point is found on
the strain axis (x-axis) of 0.002, and then a line parallel to the stress-strain line
is drawn. This line will intersect the stress-strain line slightly after it begins to
curve, and that intersection is defined as the yield strength with a 0.2% offset. A
good way of looking at offset yield strength is that after a specimen has been
loaded to its 0.2 percent offset yield strength and then unloaded it will be 0.2
percent longer than before the test. Even though the yield strength is meant to
represent the exact point at which the material becomes permanently deformed,
0.2% elongation is considered to be a tolerable amount of sacrifice for the ease
it creates in defining the yield strength. Some materials such as grey cast iron or
soft copper exhibit essentially no linear-elastic behaviour. For these materials
the usual practice is to define the yield strength as the stress required to produce
some total amount of strain.

 True elastic limit is a very low value and is related to the motion of a
few hundred dislocations. Micro strain measurements are required to
detect strain on order of 2x 10 -6 in/in.
 Proportional limit is the highest stress at which stress is directly
proportional to strain. It is obtained by observing the deviation from the
straight-line portion of the stress-strain curve.
 Elastic limit is the greatest stress the material can withstand without
any measurable permanent strain remaining on the complete release of
load. It is determined using a tedious incremental loading-unloading test
procedure. With the sensitivity of strain measurements usually employed
in engineering studies (10 -4in/in), the elastic limit is greater than the
proportional limit. With increasing sensitivity of strain measurement, the

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 value of the elastic limit decreases until it eventually equals the true
elastic limit determined from micro strain measurements.
 Yield strength is the stress required to produce a small-specified
amount of plastic deformation. The yield strength obtained by an offset
method is commonly used for engineering purposes because it avoids the
practical difficulties of measuring the elastic limit or proportional limit.

1.11.2 Ultimate Tensile Strength

The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) or, more simply, the tensile strength,
is the maximum engineering stress level reached in a tension test. The strength
of a material is its ability to withstand external forces without breaking. In
brittle materials, the UTS will at the end of the linear-elastic portion of the
stress-strain curve or close to the elastic limit. In ductile materials, the UTS will
be well outside of the elastic portion into the plastic portion of the stress-strain
curve. On the stress-strain curve above, the UTS is the highest point where the
line is momentarily flat. Since the UTS is based on the engineering stress, it is
often not the same as the breaking strength. In ductile materials strain hardening
occurs and the stress will continue to increase until fracture occurs, but the
engineering stress-strain curve may show decline in the stress level before
fracture occurs. This is the result of engineering stress being based on the
original cross-section area and not accounting for the necking that commonly
occurs in the test specimen. The UTS may not be completely representative of
the highest level of stress that a material can support, but the value is not
typically used in the design of components anyway. For ductile metals the
current design practice is to use the yield strength for sizing static components.
However, since the UTS is easy to determine and quite reproducible, it is useful
for the purposes of specifying a material and for quality control purposes. On
the other hand, for brittle materials the design of a component may be based on
the tensile strength of the material.

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1.11.3 Measures of Ductility (Elongation and Reduction of Area)
The ductility of a material is a measure of the extent to which a material
will deform before fracture. The amount of ductility is an important factor when
considering forming operations such as rolling and extrusion. It also provides an
indication of how visible overload damage to a component might become
before the component fractures. Ductility is also used a quality control measure
to assess the level of impurities and proper processing of a material. The
conventional measures of ductility are the engineering strain at fracture (usually
called the elongation) and the reduction of area at fracture. Both of these
properties are obtained by fitting the specimen back together after fracture and
measuring the change in length and cross-sectional area. Fracture or breaking
Point of ductile or brittle material is shown in Figure 1.18.

Figure 1.18 Fracture Point of Ductile and Brittle material

Elongation is the change in axial length divided by the original length of
the specimen or portion of the specimen. It is expressed as a percentage.
Because an appreciable fraction of the plastic deformation will be concentrated
in the necked region of the tensile specimen, the value of elongation will depend
on the gage length over which the measurement is taken. The smaller the gage
length the greater the large localized strain in the necked region will factor into
the calculation. Therefore, when reporting values of elongation, the gage length

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should be given. One way to avoid the complication from necking is to base the
elongation measurement on the uniform strain out to the point at which necking
begins. This works well at times but some engineering stress-strain curve are
often quite flat in the vicinity of maximum loading and it is difficult to precisely
establish the strain when necking starts to occur. Reduction of area is the change
in cross-sectional area divided by the original cross-sectional area. This change
is measured in the necked down region of the specimen. Like elongation, it is
usually expressed as a percentage.

1.12 HARDNESS
Hardness is the resistance of a material to localized deformation. The
term can apply to deformation from indentation, scratching, cutting or bending.
In metals, ceramics and most polymers, the deformation considered is plastic
deformation of the surface. For elastomers and some polymers, hardness is
defined at the resistance to elastic deformation of the surface. The lack of a
fundamental definition indicates that hardness is not be a basic property of a
material, but rather a composite one with contributions from the yield strength,
work hardening, true tensile strength, modulus, and others factors. Hardness
measurements are widely used for the quality control of materials because they
are quicksand considered to be non-destructive tests when the marks or
indentations produced by the test are in low stress areas. There are a large
variety of methods used for determining the hardness of a substance. A few of
the more common methods are introduced below.

1.13 TOUGHNESS
The ability of a metal to deform plastically and to absorb energy in the
process before fracture is termed toughness. The emphasis of this definition
should be placed on the ability to absorb energy before fracture. Recall that
ductility is a measure of how much something deforms plastically before

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fracture, but just because a material is ductile does not make it tough. The key
to toughness is a good combination of strength and ductility. Material with high
strength and high ductility will have more toughness than a material with low
strength and high ductility. Therefore, one way to measure toughness is by
calculating the area under the stress strain curve from a tensile test. This value is
simply called “material toughness” and it has units of energy per volume.
Material toughness equates to a slow absorption of energy by the material.
There are several variables that have a profound influence on the toughness of a
material. These variables are:
 Strain rate (rate of loading)
 Temperature
 Notch effect
A metal may possess satisfactory toughness under static loads but may fail
under dynamic loads or impact. As a rule ductility and, therefore, toughness
decrease as the rate offloading increases. Temperature is the second variable to
have a major influence on its toughness. As temperature is lowered, the ductility
and toughness also decrease. The third variable is termed notch effect, has to do
with the distribution of stress.

1.13.1 Impact Toughness

The impact toughness of a material can be determined with a Charpy or
Izod test. Impact properties are not directly used in fracture mechanics
calculations, but the economic impact tests continue to be used as a quality
control method to notch sensitivity and for comparing the relative toughness of
engineering materials.
For both tests, the specimen is broken by a single overload event due to
the impact of the pendulum. A stop pointer issued to record how far the
pendulum swings back up after fracturing the specimen. The impact toughness
of a metal is determined by measuring the energy absorbed in the fracture of the

24
specimen. This is simply obtained by noting the height at which the pendulum is
released and the height to which the pendulum swings after it has struck the
specimen. Since toughness is greatly affected by temperature, a Charpy or Izod
test is often repeated numerous times with each specimen tested at a different
temperature.
This produces a graph of impact toughness for the material as a function
of temperature. Impact toughness versus temperature graph for steel is shown in
the Figure 1.19. It can be seen that at low temperatures the material is more
brittle and impact toughness is low. At high temperatures the material is more
ductile and impact toughness is higher. Izod Charpy test machine is used in
Figure 1.20.

Figure 1.19 Temperature Vs Toughness Graph

Figure 1.20 Izod Charpy Test Machine

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 Metal matrix composite containing ceramic particulates tends to improve
mechanical properties as well as wear properties by way of creating restriction
to deformation of material during mechanical working.

Metal matrix composites are used in aerospace and automobile industries

due to their enhanced properties such as modulus, hardness, tensile strength, and
wear resistance
1.19 MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
Commercially pure (CP) aluminium was taken as matrix material. In situ
flux assessed synthesis technique was used to form SiC-reinforced composite by
using commercially available fluoride based fluxes that is, hexa-fluorotitanate.
In situ synthesis process was adopted for the fabrication of the composite.

(a) (b)
Fig 1.24 Wear Test Apparatus

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