Author : Shivaprakash.Y.M, K.V.Sreenivasa Prasad and Yadavalli Basavaraj

 
Of the many different types of particulate reinforcements tried out in the recent times for producing composite, fly ash is the cheapest and abundantly available waste by product from the combustion plants. Keeping in mind the environmental hazards of fly ash it has been used for producing composites besides for brick and cement manufacturing. Generally the physical and chemical nature of fly ash varies depending upon source. In the present investigation, Precipitator type fly ash having particle size below 45 μm is collected from JSW steels, Bellary, Karnataka, India at atmospheric temperature and composite were produced by reinforcing it in the wrought aluminium alloy AA2024.The motorized stir casting setup has been employed to fabricate the composite samples containing 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 and 15 % by weight of fly ash. Non heat treated alloy and composite samples were tested for dry sliding wear behaviour in pin-on-disc machine. For each specimen the wear test is conducted by varying the speeds (200,300 and 400 rpm) and by applying different normal loads like 10, 25 and 35 N in the laboratory conditions. 60, 70 and 80 mm track diameters were selected for the entire test. For determining the wear mechanism of composite, the worn surfaces were examined using Inverted metallurgical microscope. Experimental results indicated a good improvement in the wear resistance as the content of fly ash reinforcement is increased in the matrix

Keywords: stir casting, fly ash composite, pin-on-disc machine, dry sliding wear.

Article published in International Journal of Current  Engineering  and Technology, Vol.3,No.3(Aug- 2013)