Dry turning behavior of solution heat treated cupola slag reinforced aluminum matrix composites

Abstract This experimental work presents machinability characteristics of waste derived cupola slag reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites in solution treated condition during dry turning operations. Composites used in this work were fabricated by an economical stir-casting method using 100 μm-sized cupola slag particles as reinforcement at 0, 3, 5, and 7 wt% in an Al-4.5-Cu aluminum alloy (LM11) matrix. Post fabrication the samples have been heat treated. The physical, mechanical and microstructural characterizations are conducted to evaluate the changes in base alloy by cupola slag inclusion and subsequent heat treatment. The dry turning experiments has been performed in a conventional lathe with varying feed rate and spindle speed with constant depth of cut. Key machinability indices such as tool wear, chip thickness, power consumption, surface quality, force requirement and material removal rate (MRR) by loss of weight method have been investigated. A detailed tool wear study, along with analysis of chips have been presented for introspection of underlying cutting mechanisms. The results indicates that 7 wt% slag reinforced composites show improved physical, mechanical and machinability behaviors due to uniform slag dispersion and refinement of grains. This work establishes one of the possibilities of reusing cupola slag as an eco-friendly and cost-effective reinforcement in high-performance MMCs.