The effect of high SiC ratio on the physical, mechanical, tribological and corrosion behavior of Al2024 alloy matrix composites fabricated by powder metallurgy

Reinforcing materials used in the production of metal matrix composites are used to improve the properties of the final composite. However, the compatibility between matrix and reinforcement and the reinforcement ratio directly affects the properties of the composite material. For this reason, low reinforcement ratios are preferred in many studies on ceramic particle reinforced composites. Unlike conventional studies, in this study, the effects of 10 wt%, 20 wt% and 40 wt% SiC content on the microstructure, dry wear properties and corrosion properties of Al2024 matrix composites were investigated. θ phase content became higher as the SiC content was increased. Hardness values increased with increasing SiC reinforcement. The highest value (307.68 HB) was obtained for the composite with 40 wt% SiC reinforcement, an increase of more than 100%. A decrease in volume loss with increasing SiC reinforcement was observed in the friction and wear tests. For 5 N of load and 1200 m of sliding distance, it was found that an addition of 40 wt% of SiC particles in Al2024 matrix results decrease in volume loss by almost 722%.