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STUDIES OF MICROSTRUCTURE,
MECHANICAL AND TRIBOLOGICAL
PROPERTIES OF AL-2Cu-2.6Mg-7.8Zn
MMCs
Mohammed Talib Syed 1, N SAI Hemanth2, K S Prabhu3, Avinash L4 Shiv Pratap5
UG Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, NMIT Bangalore, Karnataka, India 1, 2
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, NMIT Bangalore, Karnataka, India 3, 4, 5
Bangalore, India

Abstract: The aim is to study the mechanical, Today in Modern day technology there is an ever
increasing demand in materials which achieves good
tribological property and wear behavior of Al7068
combination of strength, stiffness, toughness and
alloy/alumina composite with various weight fractions
density. But the conventional monolithic materials
(3%, 5%, 7%) were prepared by stir casting method. In
have limitations in achieving these combinations. To
addition, Al7068 were cast for comparison purposes.
overcome these shortcomings and to meet the ever
Microstructure, hardness and tensile properties of
increasing demand of modern day technology,
these composites were evaluated and compared with
composites are most promising materials of recent
as-cast alloy and the composites. In addition,
interest. A broad definition for a composite is: a
tribological properties of these composites were also
combination of two components separated by a
evaluated. The wear and mechanical properties of
distinct interface, thermodynamically irreversible, and
composites improve with increasing the weight
has properties which can be engineered using
fraction of Alumina and then decreases gradually. This
composite principles.
study provides an alternative way to enhance the
Automotive, medical and sport equipment industries
tribological behavior of Al7068 alloy/Alumina
pushed advances in materials further to introduce new
composite. The study also highlights the different
generation materials particularly having low density
contribution of different input process parameters
and very light weight with high strength, hardness and
(like: composition of Al7068 alloy/Alumina and
stiffness. Since 1960s there has been an ever-
particle size of reinforcement material) on wear
increasing demand for newer, stronger, stiffer and yet
properties of Al7068 alloy/Alumina MMCs.
lighter-weight materials in fields such as aerospace,
Keywords: Al 7068 alloy, matrix, Alumina,
transportation, automobile and construction sectors.
Composite, tribological, wear
With the vast and rapid progress in science and
technology, modern industry has introduced a new
generation of composite materials having low density
1. INTRODUCTION and very light weight with high strength, hardness and
stiffness to meet the current needs of modern

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International e-Journal For Technology And Research-2017

technology and the challenges against liberalization Melting Point 476-635 C 890-1175
and global competitiveness in market. Particle- F
reinforced aluminium alloys have the potential to be
used in a wide range of such engineering applications 2.2. Mechanical Properties
due to their higher stiffness and strength when The mechanical properties of aluminium 7068 alloy
compared with conventional aluminium alloys. are outlined in the following table 2.
In the present investigation Al 7068 alloy was chosen Properties Metric Imperial
as matrix material because of its wider applications for Tensile strength 641 MPa 93 ksi
markets like the aerospace and automotive industries Yield strength 590 MPa 85.7 ksi
(valve body and connecting rod applications), as well Elongation 8% 8%
as recreational products (bicycles) .At present very
limited information is available on the Alumina
reinforced Al 7068 alloy composites. Therefore the 2.3.Thermal Properties
present investigation makes an attempt to synthesize The thermal properties of aluminium 7068 alloy are
the Alumina reinforced Al 7068 alloy composites by outlined in the following table 3.
stir casting method. Later these composites will Properties Metric Imperial
characterized in terms of their Optical Microscope, Thermal 190 W/mK 1317 BTU
SEM studies, hardness, mechanical and Tribological conductivity in/hr.ft.F
properties.
Table 4: Chemical composition of Al7068 alloy
2. LITERATURE SURVEY (weight percentage).

There is abundant amount of literature available on

Metal Matrix Composites pertaining to Al7068 with
various reinforcements, Stir Casting and Hybrid
composites. This chapter gives a brief narration of the
significant research carried out on MMCs in the recent
past, conclusions drawn from them and objectives of
the present investigation.
Aluminium 7068 alloy is a heat treatable wrought
alloy with good fatigue strength, good anodizing
response, and high thermal conductivity. It was
designed as a higher strength alternative to
aluminium7075 for ordnance applications. It also
provides the highest mechanical strength of all
aluminium alloys.
2.1.Physical Properties
The physical properties of aluminium 7068 alloy are
outlined in the following table 1.
Properties Metric Imperial
Density 2.85 mg/cm 0.103 lb/in
3. OBJECTIVES
Our study can lead one to investigate the possibility of
identifying the use of these composites for commercial
applications in the in aerospace and automotive
industries (valve body and connecting rod
applications), as well as recreational products
(bicycles).Therefore the work taken up had the
following objectives:
Fabrication of Al7068/ Alumina composites by
Stir Casting Method.
Microstructure characterization of the composites
using optical microscopes and SEM
Evaluation of mechanical properties of the
composites.

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Evaluation of Tribological properties of the Aluminium 7068 alloy is chiefly used in the following
composites. areas:
Comparing the results of mechanical and Aerospace and automotive industries
Tribological properties of as-cast alloy with Auto-sport gearbox actuators and wheel
composites. components
Drawing Conclusion based on the obtained result. Prosthetic limbs
Load cells
Hydraulic valve components
4. METHODOLOGY High pressure solenoids
Flexible shaft coupling
Snowmobile engine shafts
Automobile shock absorbers
Fuel pumps for racing engines
Motorcycle gears
Recreational products such as tents, ski and
backpack rods, bicycles and mountain
climbing equipment
Automotive valve body and connecting rod

6. OUTCOMES

We can expect uniform distribution of

reinforcement(Alumina) withm atrix material
(Al7068) by Stir Casting Method
Uniform distribution may lead to good
Microstructure of As-cast as well as composites
Further there will be a good improvement in
mechanical and tribological properties of
Composites

Optical Microscopic Studies

Figure1: Flow Chart of Experimental Work

Fig 2(a): As-cast 7068 Fig 2(b) As-cast 7068 +3% Alumina

5. IMPLEMENTATION

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From Figure 5 it is found that hardness increase with
increasing Alumina content in the material. As
compared to as-cast (A7068 alloy), 3% Alumina
addition shows an increase of 7.2 BHN (10.52%). In
contrast 5% and 7% Alumina addition shows an
increase of 15.9 BHN (23.24%) and 21.7 BHN
(31.72%) respectively. The improvement in hardness
in casted composites may be attributed to uniform
Fig 2(c) As-cast 7068 +5% Alumina Fig 2(d) As-cast 7068 +7% Alumina
distribution of reinforcement (Alumina) in the matrix
Figure 2: Optical Micrographs of A357 alloy material.
Figure 2(a), 2(b), 2(c), 2(d) shows the micro
photographs of both the matrix alloy Al7068 and its Tensile Test Result:
composites system. The microstructure clearly
indicates fairly uniform distribution of reinforcement
with minimal porosity in the matrix alloy in all the
cast composite systems studied. Microstructure
consists of fine precipitates in a matrix of dendritic
Aluminium solid solution. Segregation or porosity is
not seen in the section. The majority of the Alumina Table 6: Tensile strength of A7068 alloy and its
particles are located inside the matrix itself which Composites
indicates that it has been wetted better due to the
addition of Mg as a wetting agent.

Hardness Test Result:

Table 5: Hardness of A7068 alloy and its Composites

Fig 6: Tensile strength of A7068 alloy and its Composites

Fig 5: Hardness of A7068 alloy and its Composites

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Fig 7: Tensile strength of A7068 alloy and its Composites

From Figure 7 it is found that compression strength

increase with increasing Alumina content in the
material. As compared to as-cast (A7068 alloy), 3%
Alumina addition shows an increase of 16.05 UCS
(12.87%). In contrast 5% and 7% Alumina addition
shows an increase of 22.86 UCS (18.33%) and 30.18
UCS (24.20%) respectively. The improvement in UCS
in casted composites may be attributed to uniform
distribution of reinforcement (Alumina) in the matrix
material.
Fig 6: Tensile strength of A7068 alloy and its Composites

From Figure 6 it is found that Tensile strength increase Tribological Studies

with increasing Alumina content in the material. As Dry sliding wear tests were conducted as per ASTM-
compared to as-cast (A7068 alloy), 3% Alumina G99 norms. The wear rate was based on the average
addition shows an increase of 30.5 UTS (17.77%). In value of 3 tests. Two loads of 10N and 30N at a
contrast 5% and 7% Alumina addition shows an sliding velocity of 3.5m/sec and sliding distance of
increase of 53.1 UTS (30.94%) and 61.7 UTS 2100m. During the test the following specifications
(35.95%) respectively. The improvement in UCS in were used:
casted composites may be attributed to uniform
distribution of reinforcement (Alumina) in the matrix
material. The superior tensile properties of the
composite over the alloy should be attributed to the
existence of the Alumina reinforcing particles to
strengthen the Al phase.

Compression Test Result :

Table 8: Specifications used in wear studies

Calculations:

Table 7: Tensile strength of A7068 alloy and its

Composites

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Table 9: Wear behaviour of A7068 alloy and Composites
Fig 9: Effect of load on wear (m) of the A7068 alloy and
its Alumina composites
(Sliding Velocity: 3.5m/s, Sliding distance: 2100m, load:
10 and 30N)
From the fig 9 it can be see that as the load increases
the wear rate increases. Maximum wear rate can be
observed in A7068 alloy and least wear rate is
observed in As-cast alloy with 7% alumina. The
decrease in wear rate may be attributed to the alumina
particles which act as load bearing in the A7068
matrix and resist wear. Due to the absence of ceramic
particle as reinforcement in as-cast alloy it has a
maximum wear rate.
Wear Surface Morphology
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As-Cast 7068 Alloy As-Cast 7068 Alloy +3%
Alumina
As-Cast 7068 Alloy +3% As-Cast 7068 Alloy +3%
Alumina Alumina
Fig 10: Wear Surface Morphology of A7068 alloy and its
Alumina reinforced composites at a Sliding velocity of
2.5m/sec and Sliding distance of 1500meters.
The worn-out surface of some selected /typical
specimens after the wear test are observed under
optical microscope Figs. 13 , (a-d) shows the surface
morphology of A7068 alloy reinforced alumina
composite, tested under two different load and speed
conditions .it appears that cavities are formed in the
composite matrix and have aligned parallel to the
direction of sliding. Some particles also have chopped
off during sliding. The amount of cavitations is less
than that of the previous case. In some regions, the
substructures are aligned parallel to the sliding
direction. In some area smaller particulate have come
out from the composite matrix.
7. CONCLUSION
The following conclusions were drawn from the
present study:
From the tests conducted in order to determine the
mechanical and Tribological properties of Alumina
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reinforced Al7068 composites of different weight
fractions of the reinforcement, it was found that:
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