Study on closed die forging performance of Al6061-sea sand composite on physical and mechanical properties

This article investigates the influence of increasing the percentage weight of sea sand reinforcement particles by using stir casting fabrication method on the performance of closed die forging. Density, Porosity, Micro and Macro Structure, Hardness of Al6061-sea sand closed die forging was studied to explain the effect of reinforcement particle content on the resulting closed die forging manufacturing process. The liquid state stir casting method was used to produce aluminum 6061 matrix composites reinforced with 2 wt%, 4 wt% and 6 wt%. Al6061-sea sand composites with dimensions of 25 × 40 mm were fabricated by closed die forging manufacturing process at room temperature with various % height reduction variations to determine the performance of the resulting samples in filling the mould space. In this present study, the density value rises while porosity decreases as the percent reduction of closed die forging increases, which indicates the improved characteristics of the sample. Hardness values were found to increase with increasing reduction of closed die forging. Metallographic characterization explained that closed die forging causes grain refinement. The optimum reduction is obtained at 40 % height, which is observed in the absence of cracks in the sample. Porosity causes the initial point of material failure when closed die forging was performed.