Optimizing of process parameters of AA6061-TiO₂ Castings that used as a solar collector: parametric study

Abstract This study emphasizes the fabrication of AA6061 reinforced with TiO 2 as a composite addition to modify its mechanical and microstructural properties. This study adopted mold vibration, angle of pouring, and TiO 2 concentration as process parameters. Used the Taguchi approach with L9 orthogonal design to investigate how process parameters affected the granular size and tensile strength of AA6061-TiO 2 ingots. investigated the microstructure, chemical composition, phase composition, tensile strength, and microhardness of AA061 composite ingots using an optical microscope, a scanning electron microscope with EDS, an XRD diffractometer, a universal tensile strength machine, and a Vickers hardness the design of experiments (DOE) approach analysis reveals that the most efficient combination of casting parameters that gave the highest ultimate tensile strength and the smallest grain size was 100 Hz mold frequency, 90 degree pouring angle, and 10 At.% TiO 2 addition. The sample prepared under these conditions achieved a tensile strength of 142.2 MPa and a grain size of 80µm. Also, the microstructural study shows that the intermetallic compound precipitate is spread out evenly, and the grain size gets smaller as the vibration of the mold gets stronger. The XRD analysis shows there is a decrease in the intensity of diffraction peaks when increasing the vibration of casting mold and the TiO 2 concentration.