Corrosion Characteristics of Short Basalt Fiber Reinforced with Al-7075 Metal Matrix Composites in Sodium Chloride Alkaline Medium.

The aim of the research work was to investigate the corrosion behaviour of basalt short fiber reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites (MMCs) in alkaline solution using weight loss method. The Al/basalt MMCs contains basalt short fiber from 2.5 to 10 % in steps of 2.5 wt. % and fabricated using liquid metallurgy technique. The corrosion characteristics of Al/basalt short fiber composite and the unreinforced alloy were experimentally assessed. The corrosion test was carried out at different temperatures in mixture of sodium-chloride alkaline solution at a concentration of 1N, 2N & 3N for different exposure time were subjected to corrosive media to evaluate their corrosion resistance. The results indicated that corrosion rate of metal matrix composites was lower than that of matrix material Al 7075 under the corrosive atmosphere for both unheat treated and heat treated conditions. Al/basalt short fiber composite become more corrosion prone as the basalt short fiber content is increased, and the corrosion rate in sodium chloride alkaline decreases with time, probably because of the formation of stable oxide layer over the specimens. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) show the degree of attack of alkaline solution on the surface of the investigated material

"Development and Characterization of Copper-Coated Basalt Fiber Reinforced Aluminium Alloy Composites"

The aim of the work was to investigate the effect of copper coated basalt short fiber reinforced Al alloy composites and was compared with uncoated basalt short fiber Al metal matrix composites (MMCs). Five different wt. % of basalt short fiber reinforced Al MMCs were prepared by squeeze casting technique 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10% basalt short fiber MMCs. Both type of MMCs (coated and uncoated basalt fiber reinforced Al MMCs) were tested for elastic modulus, ultimate tensile strength and ductility along with microstructural change as per ASTM standard. The result shows the coating of Cu on basalt short fiber increases the Young‟s modulus, due to the homogenous distribution of basalt short fiber and the alignment of these fibers parallel to the axis with minimum segregation in the alloys, the ultimate tensile strength also increased due to their matrix strengthening and reduction in the alloy grain size, but the ductility significantly decreases due to the voids. The microstructure and fracture surfaces of both MMCs were examined using optical and SEM micrographs respectively. The lack of observed fiber pull-out on fracture and improved mechanical properties resulted due to the good wetting of the fibers by the liquid alloy

Investigation on the Influence of Basalt Short Fiber on Thermo-Physical Properties of Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites.

The objective of this research work was to investigate on the influence of basalt fiber on the microstructure and thermo-physical properties of Al /basalt short fiber metal matrix composites (MMCs). The MMCs were fabricated by liquid metallurgical technique and the basalt short fiber varies from 0 to 10 wt. %. The developed MMCs were characterized for damping, coefficient of thermal expansion, specific heat and electrical resistance using dynamic mechanical analyzer, thermal mechanical analyzer, differential scanning calorimeter and four probe electrometer respectively. The results shows that the specific damping properties and specific heat increase with increasing basalt fibers addition\ but, electrical resistivity and coefficient of thermal expansion decreased

Statistical investigation on effect of Electroless coating Parameter on Coating Morphology of Short Basalt Fiber.

The Objective of the present paper is to investigate the effect of electroless coating parameters, such as Sensitization time (A), Activation time (B) and Metallization time (C), on the coating morphology of the basalt short fiber and the optimization of the coating process parameters based on L27 Taguchi orthogonal design. Coated and non-coated basalt short fiber, typically used with 7075 Aluminium alloy as einforcement, is studied. The effect of coating the short basalt fiber with copper has proved beneficial to interfacial bonding (wettability) between the reinforcement and the matrix. The interface between the matrix and the reinforcement plays a crucial role in determining the properties of metal matrix composites (MMCs). An L27 array was used to accommodate the three levels of factors as well as their interaction effects. From the Taguchi methodology, the optimal combinations for coating parameters were found to be A1B3C3 (i.e., 5 min. sensitization time, 15 min. activation time and 3 min. for metallization time). In addition, the interaction between pH value and the coating time and that between the coating time and the temperature, influence the coating parameters significantly. Furthermore, a statistical analysis of variance reveals that the metallization time has the highest influence followed by the activation time and the sensitization time. Finally, confirmation tests were carried out to verify the experimental results, Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) & Energy Dispersive Spectroscope (EDS) studies were carried out on basalt fiber

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of as Cast Aluminium Alloy 7075/Basalt Dispersed Metal Matrix Composites

This paper aims to study the effects of short basalt fiber reinforcement on the mechanical properties of cast aluminium alloy 7075 composites containing short basalt fiber of content ranging from 2.5 to 10 percent by weight in steps of 2.5 percent and fabricated using compo-casting technique. The objective is to investigate the process feasibility and resulting material properties such as young's modulus, ductility, hardness&compression strength. The properties obtained are compared with those of as-cast that were manufactured under the same fabrication conditions. The results of this study revealed that, as the short basalt fiber content was increased, there were significant increases in the ultimate tensile strength, hardness, compressive strength and Young's modulus, accompanied by a reduction in its ductility. Furthermore, the microstructure & facture studies were carried out using Optical Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in order to establish relationships between the quality of the fiber/aluminium interface bond and hence to link with mechanical properties of the composites

Prediction of the Elastic Properties of Short Basalt Fiber Reinforced with Al7075 Alloy Metal Matrix Composites.

In this paper, a micro-mechanical model is implemented in software for the prediction of local mechanical properties of discontinuous short fiber reinforced composites. The model, based on the Mori and Tanaka method, shear-lag, computational model, Nielsen-Chen model and Miwa’s model is used to predict the elastic behaviour of basalt short fiber reinforced with Al alloy composites. The Al/basalt Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) contain basalt short fiber from 2.5% to 10% in steps of 2.5 wt.% and are fabricated using squeeze infiltration technique. The effects of fiber length and orientation on elastic properties of Al/basalt MMCs are investigated. A comparison between the experimental data and the theoretical data based on physical models is made, and the significance of the findings is discussed. The results show that as short basalt fiber content was increased from 2.5% to 10% by wt.%, an improvement in Young’s modulus of 13.26% has been observed. Optical microscopy was used to examine the general microstructure and fiber distribution in the composite produced. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was performed on the fractured surface to understand the failure mechanisms

Corrosion Behaviour of Short Basalt Fiber Reinforced with Al7075 Metal Matrix Composites in Sodium Chloride Alkaline Medium

The aim of the research work was to investigate the corrosion behaviour of basalt short fiber reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites (MMCs) in alkaline solution using weight loss method. The Al/basalt MMCs contains basalt short fiber from 2.5 to 10 % in steps of 2.5 wt. % and fabricated using liquid metallurgy technique. The corrosion characteristics of Al/basalt short fiber composite and the unreinforced alloy were experimentally assessed. The corrosion test was carried out at different temperatures in mixture of sodium-chloride alkaline solution at a concentration of 1N, 2N & 3N for different exposure time were subjected to corrosive media to evaluate their corrosion resistance. The results indicated that corrosion rate of metal matrix composites was lower than that of matrix material Al 7075 under the corrosive atmosphere for both unheat treated and heat treated conditions. Al/basalt short fiber composite become more corrosion prone as the basalt short fiber content is increased, and the corrosion rate in sodium chloride alkaline decreases with time, probably because of the formation of stable oxide layer over the specimens. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) show the degree of attack of alkaline solution on the surface of the investigated material

Investigation on the Influence of Basalt Fiber on Thermal properties of Al7075/ Basalt Fiber Metal Matrix Composites.

This paper reports a study of the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) of Al7075/basalt short fiber Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) as a function of temperature and reinforcement. The percentage of reinforcement was varied from 2.5 to 10 wt. % in steps of 2.5% and the composites were prepared by the liquid metallurgy technique. Using Thermal Mechanical Analyzer (TMA) model DuPont 943 equipment, the changes in the linear dimension as a function of temperature is recorded as Percent Linear Change (PLC). The temperature of the tests ranged from 50 °C to 300 °C in the steps of 5 °C both in the heating and cooling cycles. The results show that the CTE significantly increased with increasing temperature but decreased with increasing basalt fiber. These phenomena are explained

Statistical Investigation on Effect of Electroless Coating Parameters on Coating Morphology of Short Basalt Fiber

Abstract The Objective of the present paper is to investigate the effect of electroless coating parameters, such as Sensitization time (A), Activation time (B) and Metallization time (C), on the coating morphology of the basalt short fiber and the optimization of the coating process parameters based on L 27 Taguchi orthogonal design. Coated and non-coated basalt short fiber, typically used with 7075 Aluminium alloy as reinforcement, is studied. The effect of coating the short basalt fiber with copper has proved beneficial to interfacial bonding (wettability) between the reinforcement and the matrix. The interface between the matrix and the reinforcement plays a crucial role in determining the properties of metal matrix composites (MMCs). An L 27 array was used to accommodate the three levels of factors as well as their interaction effects. From the Taguchi methodology, the optimal combinations for coating parameters were found to be A 1 B 3 C 3 (i.e., 5 min. sensitization time, 15 min. activation time and 3 min. for metallization time). In addition, the interaction between pH value and the coating time and that between the coating time and the temperature, influence the coating parameters significantly. Furthermore, a statistical analysis of variance reveals that the metallization time has the highest influence followed by the activation time and the sensitization time. Finally, confirmation tests were carried out to verify the experimental results, Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) & Energy Dispersive Spectroscope (EDS) studies were carried out on basalt fiber

Effect of coating parameters on coating morphology of basalt short fiber for reinforcement preparation of al/basalt metal matrix composites

The interface between the matrix and reinforcement plays a crucial role in determining the properties of metal matrix composites (MMC). Coating of the reinforcement is an important technique by which the interfacial properties can be improved. In this work, weight deposition of copper coating on short basalt fibers was carried out by electroless method. The electroless process used to deposit the copper coating onto the basalt fiber relies on a sequence of sensitization time, activation time and metallization time and these parameters need to be optimized to know the amount of coating thickness. These parameters considered for optimization process are evaluated for different time intervals. An electroless method of coating on basalt fiber with copper deposition is described. The effects of time of sensitization on coating thickness, effects of time of activation on coating thickness and effect of time of metallization on coating thickness on basalt fiber are studied. Using this method it is possible to deposit up to about 25 wt copper on the basalt fiber with an average coating thickness about 0.1050 to 0.115 μm. We conclude that the role of electroless copper coatings applied on short basalt fibers on the interaction between an aluminium alloy and coated fibers have to be studied to get useful information for the fabrication of basalt fiber reinforced aluminium matrix composites by liquid or semi-liquid processing. The resultant composite fiber was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) during and after the coating process. © 2013 by ESG