Sustainable manufacturing of Al6063–Si–TiC composites using AI and life-cycle assessment

The rising need for lightweight and eco-friendly automotive components has spurred the evolution of aluminium matrix composites with enhanced performance and lower environmental impact. This study examines the development of titanium carbide (TiC)-reinforced Al6063–Si composite materials combined with life-cycle assessment (LCA) and defect inspection using artificial intelligence to create a sustainable steering knuckle manufacturing process. Al6063 composites with 10 wt.% silicon (Si) and 3–5 wt.% titanium carbide were produced using the stir casting method with less energy consumption and subjected to T6 heat treatment to further enhance their mechanical properties. Optimum titanium carbide contents were determined using mechanical, fatigue, and microstructural characterisation, and a geometry-aware ResNet-50 convolutional neural network was designed for automatic defect detection. A titanium carbide content of 4 wt.% composite had higher strength and even particle distribution and better interfacial bonding, but higher titanium carbide content tended to promote agglomeration and porosity. Compared to traditional manufacturing, ISO 14040/14044 cradle-to-gate LCA showed that there was less material loss, less energy usage, and less greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed integrated framework allows the production of automotive components with a low consumption of resources and high sustainability.