Effect of Solutionising And Ageing On Hardness Of Al2024-Beryl Particulate Composite

Abstract

In the present investigation, Al2024–Beryl particulate composites were fabricated by liquid metallurgy route by varying the weight percentage of beryl particulates from 0 wt% to 10 wt% in steps of 2 wt%. The cast matrix alloy and its composites have been subjected to solutionizing treatment at a temperature of 495°C for 2 hrs followed by quenching in different media such as air, water and ice. The quenched samples are then subjected to both natural and artificial ageing. Microstructural studies have been carried out to understand the nature of structure. The density values obtained using rule of mixtures and the experimental values obtained for Al2024 alloy and its composites were compared. The Brinell hardness test was conducted on both matrix Al2024 and Al2024–Beryl particulate composites before and after heat treatment. The density of the composite material decreases as the reinforcement content increases in the matrix material. However,under identical heat treatment conditions Al2024–Beryl particulate composites exhibited better hardness when compared with Al2024 matrix alloy.