Effect of Aging Heat Treatment on Mechanical and Metallurgical Properties of Al2024 Reinforced with B4C/SiC/TiC Hybrid Composites Produced by Vacuum Infiltration Method

Abstract

In this study, composites with Al2024 matrix and 10-20 & mu;m size B4C + SiC, TiC + SiC, and B4C + TiC hybrid reinforcements were produced by the vacuum infiltration method. Reinforcements were added to the matrix in different weight ratios (1-10%). The dissolution and aging processes were applied to the hybrid parts. The effects of these processes on the hardness and microstructure were investigated by FESEM, EDS, XRD, and Vickers analyses. It has been observed that there is an increase in hardness with aging and an increase in hardness up to a 5% reinforcement ratio. In all samples, the highest hardness data was obtained after 6 h of the aging process. The highest hardness value among all hybrid composites was obtained in the 2.5%B4C + 2.5%SiC (total 5%) hybrid composite structure after 6 h of aging. The desired wettability and a homogeneous distribution of the hybrid reinforcements in the structure were achieved.