Effect of powder metallurgy process parameters on tribology and micro hardness of Al6063- nano Al2O3 MMCs

The effect of powder metallurgy process parameters and aging on the hardness and wear properties of nano Al 2 O 3 reinforced Al 6063 MMCs is investigated. Mechanical milling and blending of various volume fractions of nano Alumina in the base Al 6063 matrix followed by hot uniaxial powder compaction was used to produce the test samples. OHNS die with a punch of required diameter was used to produce the test samples. The hardness and wear behavior of the samples were studied under various process parameters such as different compaction durations and compaction pressures. Apart from the experimental investigations, MANOVA analysis was employed to study the effect of the different input variables on the output viz., hardness and wear rate. VHN tests showed an enhancement in hardness up to the addition of 6 vol% of nano Alumina beyond which a declining trend was observed. Wear rate improved with the increase in the addition of nano Alumina, and it was least for the samples produced at a compaction duration of 60 min, whereas maximum wear for the samples produced at 90 min compaction duration. A commendable enhancement of hardness and wear behavior was also observed on account of the aging of the samples.