Influence of SiC Particles Distribution and Their Weight Percentage on 7075 Al Alloy

The stir casting method was used for fabrication of 7075 aluminum alloy with 10 wt.% SiC particles of size 20-40 μm. The research objective of this paper are to achieve uniform distribution of SiC particles in the 7075 aluminum alloy matrix, characterization, and analysis of mechanical properties of composite formed. Experiments were carried out at stirring speeds of 500, 650, 750 rpm, and stirring period of 10 min. Microstructures of aluminum alloy and composites with 5, 10 wt.% SiC reinforcements were examined. The results reveal that composite produced at stirring speed of 650 rpm and stirring time of 10 min has uniform distribution of SiC particles. XRD and EDAX analysis were carried out for 7075 Al alloy and composite with 10 wt.% SiC reinforcement. No adverse reaction was observed in XRD and EDAX of composite with 10 wt.% SiC reinforcement. Tensile strength and hardness increased by 12.74% and 10.48%, respectively, with the increase in percentage of SiC reinforcement from 5 to 15 wt.%.