Synergistic Effects of SiC Reinforcement and Gd Grain Refinement in ADC14 Aluminium Alloy Composites

ADC14 hybrid composite with 10 wt% of SiC and 0.3 wt% of Gd was prepared through controlled stir-casting method in this study. The optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy showed that the silicon phase was fine and uniformly distributed in the aluminium matrix, and SiC particles are well dispersed in the aluminium. The presence of Al, Si, SiC and Gd was confirmed by EDS, without any unwanted intermetallic phases, and such also supported through XRD analysis. Mechanical testing showed that maximum tensile strength of 229 MPa attributed to good transfer of loads between the matrix and the SiC particles owning to grain refinement due to the Gd. The composite became hardened to 115.1VHN, which is due to the synergistic hardening of the SiC and microstructural refinement of Gd. Tribological evaluation showed improved wear resistance, where the wear rate was 6.4 ×10−4 mg −N −m−1 and the weight loss was reduced. The porosity and the density of the composite were only 0.225% and 2.780 g cm−3, respectively, indicating a high level of interfacial bonding. In general, synergistic addition of SiC and Gd significantly enhanced the mechanical and tribological properties of ADC14 alloy making it an attractive material for automotive parts.

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