Influence of Rice Husk Ash and Zirconia on the Tensile Strength and Ductility of Al6061 Binary Alloy

A desirable property in metal applications for medical, aerospace, and automobile applications is low weight, impact strength, wear resistance, and high strength. Titanium (Ti) and aluminum (Al) are lightweight, only titanium possesses some of these properties. However, to achieve improved properties, Ti-Al binary alloys are used as base metals, but with synthetic and natural reinforcements. In this study, zirconium oxide (ZrO2) and rice husk ash (RHA) in different proportions were combined with aluminum alloy (Al6061), proportions of titanium and aluminum powder to form novel metal matrix composites. Four sets of samples of varying weight fractions of Ti, Al, with each having six (6) samples with varying fractions of RHA and ZrO2, making a total of twenty-four (24) samples, were fabricated through the stir casting process. Tensile tests were carried out on each sample to determine its mechanical properties. The weight fraction by per cent of Al6061 was 85% for all the samples. From the tensile test, Ti increases the strength of the sample more than Al powder. For both tensile and ductile properties, RHA has a better impact on the modulus of elasticity than increased ZrO2 reaching as high as 152 MPa. However, it can be proven that Ti powder, Al powder, RHA, and ZrO2 all improved the mechanical properties of Al6061.