Strengthened Granite Particles on Al6082 Alloy for Lightweight Structural Applications

Objectives: An experimental effort is undertaken to enhance the mechanical properties of composite reinforced granite particles with Al6082 composition in contrast to previous research for lightweight structural applications. Methods : The stir casting process is used to develop the composite for the test samples. S1 sample contains 99.5 wt.% of Al6082 raw material and 0.5 wt.% of granite particles; S2 sample contains 99.0 wt.% of Al6082 raw material and 1.0 wt.% of granite particles; S3 sample contains 100 wt.% of Al6082 raw material and 0.0 wt.% of granite particles. The elemental content and particle size of granite particles were ascertained by means of SEM and EDS analysis. Findings: Tensile test was carried out for S1 & S2 samples. S1 test sample shown better results as compared to S2 sample. The microhardness of test specimen was measured at various locations for S1, S2 and S3 samples. S3 sample performed better as compared to S1 and S2 samples. Further, this microhardness value increased from S1 sample to S2 sample at two locations and the third location showed an equal value. The microstructure examination was also carried out by Using SEM analysis. The average tensile strength (UTS) of the S1 sample is 91 MPa, while the S2 sample's UTS is 50 MPa. The S1 sample can withstand a high load because of its elemental composition percentage, according to the UTS test. The average results of the microhardness test were 118 HV for the S1 sample, 133 HV for the S2 sample, and 143 HV for the S3 sample. It is suggested that this granite particle-reinforced material can be used as a lightweight structural engineering application based on previous research and this experimental investigation. Novelty: By using the granite particles as reinforced material the mechanical properties of the composite improved as compared to the existing available results with different reinforced materials. Keywords: Granite particles (GP), Al6082 alloy, Stir casting, Ultimate tensile strength, Microhardness, SEM & EDS Analysis