Characterization and tribo-mechanical properties of sic reinforced aluminum-copper matrix composite for automotive piston /
Piston is a vital automotive engine component that helps to convert thermal energy into mechanical energy which drives the crankshaft. Application of advanced materials with improved processing technique is required to tackle challenges for the automotive car engine efficiency. In this work, silicon...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Kuala Lumpur :
Kulliyyah of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia,
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Click here to view 1st 24 pages of the thesis. Members can view fulltext at the specified PCs in the library. |
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| Summary: | Piston is a vital automotive engine component that helps to convert thermal energy into mechanical energy which drives the crankshaft. Application of advanced materials with improved processing technique is required to tackle challenges for the automotive car engine efficiency. In this work, silicon carbide particulate (SiCp) reinforced Al-Cu matrix composite (Al-Cu/SiCp) is selected as the most appropriate material for the new generation automotive piston application using digital logic (DL) method considering optimum performance index emphasizing the mechanical and tribological properties. A simple stir casting process is used to develop three different compositions of Al-Cu/SiCp composite by varying Cu percentage of 2, 4 and 6 % in Al-Cu matrix coded with AMMC1, AMMC2 and AMMC3 respectively. This study covers the combined effect of the variation of Cu percentage in the Al-Cu matrix and SiC reinforcement particle size on the mechanical and tribological properties of stircast Al-Cu/SiCp composites. A passenger car piston materials' mechanical and tribological properties are obtained from a reverse engineering (RE) and results are considered as the benchmark for the comparison of tribo-mechanical properties of stircast Al-Cu/SiCp composites. It is found that, the tribo-mechanical properties are greatly influenced by varying Cu percentage in the matrix and the SiCp reinforcement size. The microstructural investigation showed a uniform distribution of SiCp in the Al-Cu matrix and mostly clustered at inter-dendritic regions of the matrix. The EDX spectrum and elemental analysis confirmed that the gradually increments of Cu in the Al-Cu matrix. The XRD analysis showed higher crystallinity of the material with higher Cu content in the matrix due to formation of more intermetallic compound of Al2Cu. The tensile strength and hardness are increased with the increasing of crystallinity. Maximum hardness is found 94 (VH500gf) for AMMC3 compared to other two compositions of Al-Cu/SiCp composite and Al-Si piston alloy. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) is increased due to the percentage increment of Cu in the Al-Cu matrix. A significant increment (26.8%) in UTS is observed from 2 to 4 % Cu in the matrix, whereas small improvement (8.74 %) of UTS is obtained for the 6 % Cu content in the matrix of Al-Cu/SiCp composite. In fracture surface, the number and size of dimples and facet features for AMMC3 are considerably lower compared to other two compositions of Al-Cu/SiCp composites. Specific wear rate of AMMC3 composite material is lower and friction coefficient is higher than that of AMMC1, AMMC2 and Al-Si piston alloy under different applied load and speed conditions. From the overall analysis, it is found that among the three compositions of Al-Cu/SiCp composites AMMC3 showed better mechanical and tribological properties compared to the Al-Si piston alloy. Decisively, the stir-cast AMMC3 is selected as the most potential material for the next generation automotive piston application. |
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| Item Description: | Abstracts in English and Arabic. "A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Manufacturing and Materials Engineering."--On t.p. |
| Physical Description: | xvii, 123 leaves : ill. ; 30cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-123). |