Effect of process parameters on wear rate of Al 6061-Cu reinforced SiCp metal matrix composites

The excellent mechanical properties of aluminium metal matrix composites (mmc),together with weight saving make them very attractive for a variety of engineering applications in the automotive,aerospace and heavy machinery industries. including this other properties like their high stiffness,strength,corrosion resistance,wear resistance,non-react with chemicals and so many other tailored quality which never obtainable in alloy of metal can be easily achieved in mmcs attract researchers in the last few decades. the major challenges in the fabrication of mmc are the difficulties of achieving uniform distribution of reinforce material and possible chemical reaction s between reinforcement material and matrix. therefore,the present research was conducted to investigate the effect of stirring speed and pouring temperature on wear rate and microstructure of al6061-cu reinforced sic mmc by stir casting technique. the dependent variable is wear rate by pin on disc wear method while the independent parameters are five level of stirring speed and five level of pouring temperature. the optimal values of wear rate are observed between ranges of 200 to 600 rpm stirring speed,at high speed (800 rpm) the wear rate increases drastically. the wear rates are stable in range of 700°c to 750°c of pouring temperature,except at 800 rpm stirring speed.