Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Fly Ash Particulate Reinforced in LM6 for Energy Enhancement in Automotive Applications

Fly ash has gathered widespread attention as a potential reinforcement for aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) to enhance the properties and reduce the cost of production. Aluminium alloy LM6 reinforced with three different amounts (0, 4, 5 and 6 wt. %) of fly ash particle that were prepared by compo-casting method. The fly ash particles were incorporated into semi-solid state of LM6 melt. In this study, the microstructure of prepared AMCs with the homogenous distribution of fly ash was analysed using optical microscope. The microstructure having refinement of structure with the decreasing of Si-needle structure and increasing the area of eutectic alpha-Al matrix as shown in figure. Besides, as the increasing amount of fly ash incorporated, there are more petal-like dark structure existed in the microstructure. The density of the AMCs decreased as the incorporation of fly ash increased. While the hardness and ultimate tensile strength of the AMCs increased with the incorporation of fly ash. The addition of fly ash particles improved the physical and mechanical properties of the AMCs. Thus lead to improve the energy consumption in automotive parts.