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The demanding material quality criteria in the automotive and aerospace industries have recently had an impact on the development of lightweight aluminium alloys. The choice and application of metal-matrix composites as structural materials in this context are known to offer a variety of benefits. These benefits include the ability to combine high elastic modulus, toughness, and impact resistance; minimum sensitivity to change in temperature or thermal shock; durability of the surface is good; moisture absorption leads to a potential issue while minimum exposure which leads to environmental degradation; and improved fabricability with conventional metalworking equipment. Aluminium metal matrix composites (AMMCs) are a potential material for advanced structural, aviation, aerospace, marine, and defense applications, as well as for the automotive sector and other related fields, due to their outstanding combination of qualities. The stir casting procedure is used to create an aluminium metal matrix composite (AMMC), which is the most efficient way to do so. In this study, the aluminium alloy 7075 is strengthened using neem leaf powder and SiC. The Vickers hardness examination method is used to govern the hardness of hybrid composites. Eventually, the mechanical and tribological properties of the composites were assessed, and their relationship to the composites' matching microstructure and wear was addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Current work reports on the development of A357 alloy composite which is reinforced with dual size SiC particles by stir casting route. Influence of different weight fractions (3% coarse+ 3% fine, 4% coarse + 2% fine, and 2% coarse + 4% fine) of dual size SiC particles on mechanical properties and wear resistance of A357 composites is the focus of this work. Hardness and tensile properties were studied for dual size composites and then were compared with A357 alloy. Microstructural study, fractured surface and worn surface investigation were carried out using optical and scanning electron microscopes respectively. Microstructural analysis showed fairly uniform dispersion of dual size SiC particles in A357 matrix with good interfacial bonding. Compared to A357 alloy, the composites showed improvement in hardness, yield, and tensile strength. In particular, composite with 4 wt. % of fine and 2 wt. % of large SiC particles displayed the highest tensile strength while composite with 4 wt. % of large and 2 wt. % of fine SiC particles exhibited high hardness and wear resistance among A357 alloy and dual particle size composites. The strengthening mechanisms that contributed to improvement in strength values were effective load transfer and dislocation strengthening due to thermal mismatch. Highlights • Uniform dispersion of dual size SiC particles in A357 matrix. • Continuous interface and good bonding between A357 matrix and dual size SiC particles. • Significant improvement in hardness and mechanical properties of dual size composites compared to A357 alloy. • Improvement in wear resistance of dual size composites compared to A357 alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]