MECHANICAL AND MICROSTRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF A356/SIC MICRO–NANO HYBRID COMPOSITES THROUGH EXPERIMENTS AND FINITE ELEMENT MODELING

ABSTRACT: Aluminium matrix nano hybrid composites are becoming prevalent in numerous engineering fields due to their improved mechanical and structural performance. In this study, A356 aluminium alloy matrix was reinforced with micro-sized and nano-sized SiC particles using a two-step stir casting process combined with mechanical ball milling to ensure uniform particle dispersion. The microparticle content was fixed at 10 wt% SiC, while the nanoparticle content ranged from 1 to 4 wt%. Mechanical tensile testing was performed in accordance with ASTM standards for evaluating composite performance. In comparison to Al alloy and reinforced metal matrix composites, it was shown that the hybrid composite made of microparticles demonstrated improved tensile and hardness properties as well as decreased porosity. Further computer simulations using ANSYSTM and SolidWorksTM were performed to analyse stress distribution and predict mechanical behaviour under loading circumstances. The hybrid composites displayed significant improvements in tensile strength and modulus of elasticity as opposed to the reinforced A356 alloy. The optimum composite (A356 + 10% SiC micro + 4% SiC nano) has roughly 30% higher tensile strength and 72% higher modulus of elasticity than the initial alloy, along with reduced permeability. These enhancements of hybrid composites have demonstrated a significant role given to creative engineering fields; whereby structural and mechanical strength are reliable and remarkable strength to weight performance become required.