International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 4 (2021) 281e289

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture

journal homepage: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/
international-journal-of-lightweight-materials-and-manufacture

Original Article

Impact on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-4.5Cu

alloy by the addition of MoS2
Gadudasu Babu Rao a, Praveen Kumar Bannaravuri a, *, R. Raja a, K Ch Apparao b,
P Srinivas Rao c, T Srinivasa Rao d, Anil Kumar Birru e, R. Malkiya Rasalin Prince a
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karunya Institute of Technology and Science, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, 641114, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Aeronautical Engineering, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500043, India
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Christian College of Engineering & Technology, Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, 490026, India
d
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vasireddy Venkatadri Institute of Technology, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, 522508, India
e
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Manipur, Imphal, 795004, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Utilization of aluminium composites is on the rise and has wide applications in aerospace, automobile
Received 13 July 2020 and marine industries because of their inherent properties. The aluminium composites express high
Received in revised form wear and corrosion resistance, high strength to weight ratio, toughness etc. In the present research work,
21 January 2021
aluminum 4.5 copper alloy reinforced with MoS2 is fabricated employing stir casting method and their
Accepted 21 January 2021
Available online 9 February 2021
mechanical properties and microstructures were investigated. The percentage addition of reinforcement
was made in the range from 0 wt% to 6 wt% in a step of 2 wt%. The results show a significant
improvement in the micro-hardness and tensile properties on the addition of MoS2 particles, up to 4 wt%
Keywords:
Aluminium Copper alloy
and beyond 4 wt%, these properties start decreasing. The uniform distribution of particles as well as fine-
MoS2 grain refinement was observed with the addition of reinforcement and thereby the density of the
Microstructure composite improved. The highest value of tensile strength and hardness of composites was noticed at
Hardness 4 wt% of MoS2 of aluminium composite and tensile fracture mechanism was analyzed with the scanning
Ultimate tensile strength electron microscope.
© 2021 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction Multiphase composite material is produced by bulk processing,

These days instead of iron, aluminium is a widely used metal in
industries like defence, aerospace and automobile, because of its
low density, first-rate wear and corrosion resistance, high strength
to weight ratio, superior malleability, good thermal conductivity,
and good formability. As technology advanced there is a need for an
economical, harder, stronger and low weight material in these in-
dustries [1]. In recent years there is a shift of research advancement
towards the field of composite materials. Many of the researchers
made attempted to reinforce monolithic metals/alloys with ceramic
phase (composite) to enhance their properties [2].
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: banna.mech@gmail.com (P.K. Bannaravuri).
Peer review under responsibility of Editorial Board of International Journal of
Lightweight Materials and Manufacture.
it generally has two phases that matrix phase and other one is
reinforcement phase. To have different properties, different mate-
rials are combined physically with chemically distinct materials.
The reinforcement phase elements such as SiC, Al2O3, SiO2, B4C,
AlN, TiC etc., act as load-bearing elements in the composites and
improve the bulk properties of composites [3]. These aluminium
metal reinforced with a ceramic called aluminium metal matrix
composites (AMMCs) have great potential in the engineering and
non-engineering fields [4]. When these composites are compared
with the non-reinforced alloy, AMMCs show highly enhanced
properties in terms of strength, stiffness, corrosion, wear resistance,
thermal stability and also, they can be altered to an explicit
requirement [5].
AMMCs have wide range applications especially in the transport
sector because of reduced noise and fuel consumption than any
other materials [6]. Pazhouhanfar and Eghbali [7], have reported
that Al6061 alloy reinforced with TiB2 at 3, 6 and 9 wt% fabricated
by a stir casting technique and it was observed that the particles

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlmm.2021.01.001
2588-8404/© 2021 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
G.B. Rao, P.K. Bannaravuri, R. Raja et al.
distributed uniformly and made a strong bonding between the
matrix and particles. The mechanical properties like hardness and
tensile strengths were improved significantly. Joseph et al. [8]
investigated properties of AA6063 alloy reinforced with MoS2 by
stir casting and it was reported that the reinforcement particles
were distributed uniformly and the density of the composite was
improved. The wear resistance and hardness of the composites
increased with the incorporation of MoS2 particles. Maivizhi
Selvi1et al. [9] reported that the impact of MoS2 on the mechanical
properties such as the hardness, toughness and flexural strength
values of the composites of Al6061 alloy, AA 6061-6% Al2O3 and
Al6061-6% Al2O3-2% MoS2 were improved.
To fabricate AMMCs various manufacturing methods are avail-
able such as powder metallurgy, friction stir casting, pressure less
infiltration etc. But stir casting is a striking and economical process
that can produce a complex shape product with a wide choice of
material and processing conditions [10,11]. The stir casting pro-
cedure is most economical of all the available routes for AMMCs
production. As per Skibo et al. [12], the price of fabrication of
composite materials employing stir casting is about one-third to
half that of other competitive techniques or methods. In the case of
large volume production, the cost decreases to one-tenth and up-to
30% volume fraction. The spreading of particles of reinforcement in
the melt largely depends on the speed, temperature and stirring
time and also the characteristics of particles which are to be added
and this method of stir casting offers better matrix-particles
bonding.
Pradeep et al. [13] have fabricated Al6082 alloy-based com-
posites reinforced with graphite by stir casting method. It was
noticed that graphite particles were distributed uniformly
throughout the matrix alloy. From the extensive literature survey, it
is observed that the characterization of Al-4.5 Cu alloy is reinforced
with MoS2 is yet to be carried out. Hence in this research work, Al-
4.5Cu alloy reinforced with molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is
established, to maintain the desired properties of aluminium
composite, its fabrication employing stir casting has been investi-
gated. Aluminium composites reinforced by MoS2 may provide
high strength to become a main structural material shortly gener-
ation. The main purpose of this experimental investigation is to
demonstrate that the adding of MoS2 to Al-4.5Cu, may influence the
mechanical properties.
2. Experimental procedures
The Al-4.5Cu/MoS2 composites were developed by the base
alloy of Al 4.5%wt Cu and reinforcement of MoS2 particles and
chemical-composition of the base alloy by weight percentage as
4.52% Cu, 0.066%Mg, 0.538%Si, 0.663%Fe, 0.131%Mn, 0.075%Ni,
0.029%Pb, 0.021%Sn, 0.013%Ti, 0.118%Zn and the remaining is
aluminium. It is an alloy used in aircraft structures, especially in
structural components of wing and fuselage, where the high
strength-to-weight ratio is required. It is also used in applications
such as in automobile engines and other rotating and reciprocating
parts such as pistons, drive shafts and brake-rotors [14e16]. The
mesh size of 500, purity of 99.96% and 30-mm average size of MoS2
particles were selected. Since the particles are of micro size, they
are distributed uniformly and contributed to the enhancement of
properties of the matrix.
2.1. Fabrication of composites
The two-step mixing process of stir casting is used to manu-
facture MoS2 reinforced Al-4.5Cu alloy composite.
The stir casting parameters are shown in Fig. 1, can influence the
microstructure and properties of composites. Rajmohan et al. [17]
282
International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 4 (2021) 281e289
observed that the reinforcement particles are uniformly distributed
in the matrix alloy thereby achieving the uniform mechanical
properties of the composite materials with stir casting method.
Radhika et al. [18] also fabricated aluminum-based composites
reinforced with Al2O3 and Graphite particles by stir casting method
and found that reinforcement particles were distributed uniformly.
It was also observed that with the addition of reinforcement par-
ticles, the hardness and tensile strength of composite increased. In
this present work, the Al-4.5 wt% Cu alloy was reinforced with
MoS2 to produce AMMCs using the stir casting experimental set up
as shown in Fig. 2. The maximum temperature of the furnace is
1000
C and operating voltage is 440 V, 34AC 50 c/s, the capacity of
the melting pot of 2 kg of aluminium alloy and digital temperature
indicator. This setup was used for making the alloys of aluminium
in the earlier works of the first two authors [19].
Here, first, the matrix material was heated to above its liquid
temperature up to 800
C in the electric furnace. Then the molten
metal was cooled up to a temperature between the liquid and solid
or semi-solid temperature. At semisolid condition, the warmed
reinforcement particles (300
C) were added and mixed thoroughly
by stirring. The stirring was done by means of mechanical steel
stirrer which is attached to stir casting machine and stirring was
done at 400 rpm [16]. Again the slurry was heated up to 750
C to
fully liquid state to achieve good fluidity to fill the die (50 mm
diameter and 300 mm long) and mixed uniformly by stirrer. The
molten composite slurry was poured into the die through the
bottom pouring system as shown in Fig. 2 and the pouring tem-
perature was maintained 750
C. The different sets of composites
were prepared as the Al-4.5Cu/MoS2 composite with 0, 2, 4 and
6 wt percentage of MoS2 as shown in Table 1, was fabricated. The
MoS2 particles are incorporated into the molten metal at the semi-
solid condition to enhance the wettability between the reinforce-
ment and matrix alloy to accomplish the distribution of particles
uniformly.
2.2. Microstructure analysis
An Optical Microscope (OM) and a Scanning Electron Micro-
scope (SEM) were used for metallographic examinations of the
composites. The equipment FEI Quanta 250 SEM, equipped with
EDAX was utilized for the examination of composite's microstruc-
ture. The fabricated composite samples were sectioned, polished
and etched with Keller's reagent. This reagent has 2.5 mL HNO3,
1.0 mL HF, 1.5 mL HCl and 95 mL water is extensively used for Al and
its alloys [20] for investigation. The composite's grain size is fixed
with the ‘linear intercept method’ using Image software.
2.3. Density and porosity measurement
The density of the fabricated samples by stir casting method was
measured to know the level of porosity, which affect the reliability
of the casting method. The influence of MoS2 wt.% on the density of
composite measured by equation (1). The porosity can be calculated
by differentiating density of theoretical (rth) and experimental
(rexp) values by equation (2) [19]. The density of fabricated samples
calculated with Archimedes’ principle known as water displace-
ment technique [21] as given in equation-1:
m
rexp ¼ (1)
V
here, m ¼ mass and V ¼ volume of the test samples.
The porosity level in the fabricated composites normally ap-
pears, because of the entrapment of air while casting. The porosity
can influence the mechanical and other properties of the material,
G.B. Rao, P.K. Bannaravuri, R. Raja et al. International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 4 (2021) 281e289

Fig. 1. Stir casting parameters affecting the strength of MMCs.

Fig. 2. Stir casting experimental setup.

which cannot be removed completely, but can be diminished by

controlling the casting process. rth ¼ rm Vm þ rr Vr (3)

where rm is the density of matrix, Vm is the volume fraction of the

rth  rexp matrix, rr is the density of reinforcement, and Vr is the volume
Porosityð%Þ ¼ ð Þ  100 (2)
rth fraction of the reinforcement.

Theoretical density for any composites can be calculated using

equation (3), which is called the rule of mixtures [22], 2.4. Tensile and hardness tests

The test samples for hardness and tensile tests were taken as per
Table 1
the standards. The hardness test sample's dimensions are 15 mm 
Aluminium composites with reinforced MoS2 by stir casting.
15 mm  15 mm, and are polished thoroughly to obtain smooth
Sr. No. Sample code Material and even surface. Micro-hardness was measured by using Vickers
1 Sample 1 Al-4.5Cu alloy hardness tester (HM113 by MITUTOYO, Japan) with diamond
2 Sample 2 Al-4.5Cu/2 MoS2 indenter. The Micro Vickers hardness machine is used to conduct
3 Sample 3 Al-4.5Cu/4 MoS2 hardness tests as per ASTM E384-11 by taking three reading's
4 Sample 4 Al-4.5Cu/6 MoS2
average for each sample, with a load of 500 gm for 15 s. The tensile
283
G.B. Rao, P.K. Bannaravuri, R. Raja et al.
test samples were made by machining as per the standard ASTM
B557 with major neck dimensions of 36 mm in gauge length and
9 mm in diameter as shown in Fig. 3. The experiments were con-
ducted by a computerized universal testing machine, CUTM- 50 kN,
TMC, Chennai, to determine the ultimate tensile strength (UTS),
and ductility. The tensile test sample's fracture surface is detected
by using the SEM investigation.
3. Results and discussions
In this section microstructure analysis, porosity, density, tensile
strength and hardness were discussed in detail.
3.1. Microstructure analysis
The structure, density and reinforcement particles distribution
has a great influence on the mechanical properties of composites.
Fig. 4 show the optical micrograph of the Al-4.5 Cu alloy and
composites. The dendritic structure was observed in Fig. 4a. This is
because of the rapid solidification process known as super-cooling
where very high cooling rate takes place forming the dendritic
structure. From Fig. 4b-d, it is noticed that the MoS2 particles are
observable and the distribution of particles are well in uniform.
The diminished dendritic structure was noticed and the occur-
rence of grain refinement in the composites, which is due to an
addition of MoS2 particles as shown in Fig. 4b-d. The grain size of
the matrix alloy observed is quite large as shown in Fig. 4a whereas
in composites it is decreased.
The presence of MoS2 particles in the composites influences the
solidification pattern. During the solidification process, the MoS2
particles are forbidden by the way of refined a-Al grains. From the
micrographs (Fig. 4b-d) it is confirmed that the MoS2 particles act
as an effective grain refiner. The lower grain size is observed with
the presence of MoS2 particles as shown in Fig. 4 and is measured
by the “linear intercept method”, which is used to measure average
grain size [23]. The refinement in the grain structure of composites
occurs due to presence of MoS2, which act as grain nucleation spot.
The grains of aluminium solidifies on MoS2 particles and growth of
a-Al grains was restricted by them. More amount of MoS2 particles
result in grain nucleation which restricts the growth of a-Al grains.
The more grain nucleation led to furthermore grain refinements. It
was observed from Fig. 5, the average grain size was decreased with
the addition of MoS2 and the smallest average grain size was
noticed in 4 wt% of MoS2 reinforced composite.
Figure 6a shows the distribution of particles was uniform in the
4 wt% of MoS2 reinforced composites. The dispersion of the parti-
cles in a uniform manner in the composite is influenced by the
particles that were added in the semi-solid melt [24]. Fig. 6a shows
the clear interface is recorded in the composites between matrix
and reinforcement particles. The uniform distribution of particles
in the composite improves the mechanical properties where the
particles act as load-bearing elements when a load is applied. From
Fig. 3. Graphical sketch of the tensile test specimen.
284
International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 4 (2021) 281e289
Fig. 6b, it is noticed that the occurrence of agglomeration and some
porosity at 6 wt% of MoS2 composite. The amount of agglomeration
was set up in the composites naturally by an increase in the rein-
forcement phase. The gas holes were presented in the micro-
structure as shown in Fig. 6b, due to air entrapment in to melt
during stirring [7,8] and then the porosity increased with increase
in stirring time. Similar results were noticed by Pradeep et al. [25],
that the grain refinement and enhancement in the properties of
composite with addition of reinforcement and further increase in
enforcement content agglomeration and porosity were observed.
3.2. Density and porosity
Addition of MoS2 in the composites affected the density and
porosity as shown in Fig. 7. The density of composites was amplified
because of the presence of MoS2 content and it was calculated from
equation (1). In the composites, the MoS2 wt.% at 2, 4 and 6 wt%
then it was observed that 1.12%, 2.43% and 3.52% raised the density
when compared with matrix alloy as shown in Fig. 7. The rise in
density is due to the presence of the higher density particles in the
composite. The theoretical density was calculated by equation (3)
to determine the porosity, naturally, it is noticed that theoretical
density increased with increase in MoS2 content. The experimental
values of density are lower when compared with theoretical values,
this is due to porosity that occurred in the composite during
fabrication.
The porosity was calculated by equation (2), to detriment the
quality of casting and manufacture process [26]. The porosity of the
MoS2 reinforced composites added on slightly as shown in Fig. 7.
The porosity presence in the composite is due to entrapment of
gasses in the molten metal. It is noticed from Figs. 4 and 6, some
amount of gas bubbles due to the penetration of environmental
gasses and also imbibing of air bubbles into the molten melt during
the stirring process. The highest porosity was observed in the 6 wt%
of MoS2 reinforced composites as shown in Fig. 7. The porosity plays
a major role in the mechanical properties of the composites, lower
the porosity of composites leads to better properties of the mate-
rial. The present research work results are in line with Daniel et al.
[27] who had fabricated aluminium composite reinforced with SiC
and MoS2 by a stir casting technique and it was recorded that the
density and porosity increased with increase in MoS2 content.
3.3. Micro-hardness and tensile strength
The hardness of the matrix alloy and MoS2 reinforced compos-
ites in terms of micro-hardness was presented as shown in Fig. 8.
The hardness boosted with the presence of MoS2 content as shown
in Fig. 8, that 3.93%, 17.32% and 10.01% improved at 2, 4 and 6 wt %
of MoS2 content in the composite respectively when correlated
with matrix alloy. Initially, the addition of MoS2 as reinforcement to
the composite shows improved microhardness value from sample
A to sample C but on increasing the content of MoS2 (at 6 wt%)
particles (sample D) in the composite the hardness had decreased
as shown in Fig. 8. The decrement in hardness at 6 wt% of MoS2 in
the composite due to particles agglomeration and increase in
porosity. The highest hardness was observed in the 4 wt% of MoS2
composite, this may be due to the uniform distribution of particles
and the particles acts as a load-bearing element and due to grain
refinements. Because of the uniform distribution of particles, the
ability to resist the penetration improved remarkably. The similar
results were observed by Joseph et al. [8].
The tensile strength of composites in terms of the ultimate
tensile strength (UTS) was measured and presented. The wt.% of
MoS2 at 2, 4 and 6% in the composites affected tensile strength and
is depicted in Fig. 9. The enhancement in UTS of the composite was
G.B. Rao, P.K. Bannaravuri, R. Raja et al.
Fig. 4. The optical microstructures of (a) Al-4.5Cu alloy, (b) Al-4.5Cu/2MoS2, (c) Al-4.5Cu/4MoS2 and (d) Al-4.5Cu/6MoS2.
noticed when compared with matrix alloy, this due to the presence
of MoS2 particles. The improvement in UTS was 9.10%, 21.10% and
16.01% observed with increase in 2, 4 and 6 wt% of MoS2 content
respectively, when correlated with matrix alloy as shown in Fig. 9.
The highest UTS value was observed in the 4 wt% of MoS2 com-
posite. Strength of the material is attributed to MoS2 particles
which act as load-bearing elements. An applied load may transfer
to the reinforcement thorough clear interface which is between
reinforcement and matrix.
The strength is developed due to enhancement in dislocation
density [28]. The dislocations can be noticed in the matrix
following solidification process, which is raised due to mismatch in
the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between matrix and
reinforcement. The CTE value of matrix alloy and MoS2 particles is
Fig. 5. Average grain size of aluminium composites materials.
285
International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 4 (2021) 281e289
dissimilar and the CTE of matrix alloy is greater than the MoS2


particles. The CTE of Al-4.5Cu alloy is 22.8 х 106/ C and the CTE of


MoS2 is 0.55  106/ C as shown in Fig. 10. Shin and Bae [29] also
have reported that strength of the composite material was
enhanced due to increase in dislocation density, with the addition
of reinforcement particles, due to mismatch between the CTE of
matrix and particles.
The differences in the CTE cause, the strain fields to rise along
with the reinforcement particles in the matrix material during the
solidification process. The strain fields hinder the wave of disloca-
tions, then to break this strain fields needed the more amount of
load [30].
Hence, the prediction of dislocation density established by
Arsenault and Shi [31], may be fairly prospective at the interface.
The average dislocation density (rdis) of the fabricated composite
can be determined by equation (4).
12εVr
rdis ¼ (4)
bdð1  VrÞ
where, ε, Vr, b, and d denoted that the thermal mismatch strain, the
volume fraction of the reinforcement, the Burgers vector, and the
average grain diameter of reinforcement particles respectively.
The fabricated composite's CTE is comparatively complex to
estimate by numerous parameters such as the internal structure of
the material and plasticity etc. Even though, there are various
analytical routes to estimate the CTE of the fabricated composites,
by using the standard rule of mixtures, Kerner and Turner models
as given in equations (5) and (6) respectively.
G.B. Rao, P.K. Bannaravuri, R. Raja et al. International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 4 (2021) 281e289

Fig. 6. SEM image of (a) Al-4.5Cu/4 wt%MoS2 shows uniform distribution of particles and (b) Al-4.5Cu/6 wt% MoS2 shows agglomeration and porosity.

Fig. 7. Effect on Density and porosity with an increase in the content of MoS2 particles.
Fig. 9. Variation of ultimate tensile strength with a weight percentage of MoS2
addition.

Fig. 8. Effect on Micro-hardness of composite with the increase in the content of MoS2 Fig. 10. Values of Dislocation density and CTE of fabricated composites.
particles.

286
G.B. Rao, P.K. Bannaravuri, R. Raja et al. International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 4 (2021) 281e289

Kp  Km
ac ¼ ap Vp þ am Vm þ ðap  am ÞVp Vm   (5)
Vp Kp þ Vm Km þ 3 4Kp Km Lm

the matrix alloy in tension. The material properties may be affected

ap Vp Kp þ am Vm Km
ac ¼ (6)
Vp Kp þ Vm Km
And also depending on the rule of mixtures to estimate the CTE
of the AMMCs is given by equation (7).
ac ¼ ap Vp þ am Vm (7)
where, V and a denoted that the volume fraction, and the CTE of the
material respectively. The suffixes c, p, and m signify the fabricated
composite, particle and matrix correspondingly. K denoted the bulk
modulus of the composite.
The estimated CTE of the composites dropped and the disloca-
tion density increased with the addition of reinforcement content
observed from the above equations and depicted as shown in
Fig. 10. The dislocation density of the fabricated composites
determined by equation (4), with taken 0.32 nm of Burgers vector
for aluminium [32] and are depicted in Fig. 10.
The strengthening of the composite may be observed due to the
existence of dislocations generated with differentiating of CTE, by
equation (8).
DsT ¼ aGbðrdis Þ1=2 ::::: (8)
where DsT denoted the yield strength, a denoted a constant which
values may be taken 0.5 to 1, G denoted the shear modulus, and b
denoted the Burger vector. The strengthening may be occurred in
the composites mainly due to rise in dislocation density originating
from a thermal mismatch in between the matrix and reinforcement
phase.
The strength is also noted in the composite material due to grain
refinement. It is stated by Hall-Patch, the relationship between the
diameter of grain and yield strength of the material as shown in
equation (9), wherein the strength may increase with the decrease
in average grain size.
sy ¼ si þ kd1=2 (9)
due to the residual stress, the crack tips and the fracture toughness
leads to rise in the brittle nature of the composites [33]. The present
results show a very good agreement with Rozabinay and Rashied
[34] and Inegbenebor et al. [35]. From the results, it can be
concluded that the remarkable enhancement in the strength to
weight ratio is established by using MoS2 as reinforcement.
The percentage of elongation was dropped due to presences of
MoS2 in the composites as shown in Fig. 11. The MoS2 particles
contribute to a remarkable role in dropping the ductility of com-
posites, because of the brittle nature of the MoS2 particles presence.
The flow ability of aluminium matrix may be restricted by MoS2
particles routs in brittleness. The reduction in the percentage of
elongation also causes an increase in UTS and hardness.
The failure mechanism of the tensile strength of composites is
observed with help of SEM analysis. The fractography images of Al-
4.5Cu alloy and 2, 4 and 6 wt% MoS2 reinforced composites is
depicted as shown in Fig. 12. It is seen from Fig. 12a, that the bigger
size voids were present and distributed uniformly in fracture
morphology of matrix alloy. It exposed an emblematic ductile
fracture characteristic and several dimples noticed over the
morphology as shown in Fig. 12a.
The composites contain 2, 4 and 6 wt% of MoS2 particles of
fracture morphology depicted as shown in Fig. 12bed. The voids
size was minimized with the addition of MoS2 content in the
composites. Minimization of voids may be due to grain refines that
occurred in the composites upon addition of MoS2. The lowest size
of dimples was noticed in the fracture morphology of composite
contain 4 wt% of MoS2 particles as shown in Fig. 12c. The lower size
dimples due to grain refinement and existing particles may help to
transfer the applied load from matrix alloy to particles through an
interface. The grain refinement in the composites with addition
upon MoS2 can help to shrink the size of dimples. The brittle
reinforcement and ductile matrix having clear interface can be seen
in fracture morphology of 4 wt% of MoS2 composites as shown in
Fig. 12c may confirm the good bonding between matrix and rein-
forcement particles. To break the bond, more load needs to be
applied and in results, at 4 wt% MoS2 reinforced composites

where si ¼ friction stress, which is the resistance of the crystal

lattice to dislocation movement, k ¼ the locking parameter, which
is the measurement of the hardening involvement of the grain
boundaries, and d ¼ the average diameter of grains.
From optical micrograph as shown in Fig. 4, discussed in the
microstructure analysis section, the grain size was reduced with the
addition of MoS2. The lowest grain size was noticed at 4 wt% of
MoS2 reinforced composites as shown in Fig. 6. The tensile strength
decreased at 6 wt% of MoS2 reinforce composite, this decrease in
UTS is due to the presence of MoS2 as agglomerations and high
porosity, the composite's porosity increased with the addition of
MoS2 particles. Although, the decrement in UTS is due to lower
harness that occurred at 6 wt% of MoS2 and as an increase in the
MoS2 content may produce more site for crack initiation. The load-
bearing capacity of the composite may reduce because of crack
initiation increased with the addition of particles. And another
reason for reduction of strength after 4 wt% of MoS2 in the com-
posites, is that the rise of residual stress because of thermal Fig. 11. Effect on the percentage of an elongation with the increase in the content of
mismatch put up the reinforcement particles into compression and MoS2 particles.

287
G.B. Rao, P.K. Bannaravuri, R. Raja et al.
Fig. 12. Tensile fracture morphologies of (a) Al-4.5Cu, (b) Al-4.5Cue2MoS2, (c) Al-4.5Cue4MoS2, (d) Al-4.5Cue6MoS2.
expressed high strength. The results are in line with Mohapatra
et al. [36] who had reported the strengthening effect of matrix alloy
reinforced with particles, due to good interface between matrix and
particles. The more sites for crack initiation increased with increase
in the MoS2 content in the composite, this occurs due to the par-
ticles agglomeration and increase in porosity. In the fracture
morphology of 6 wt% of MoS2 reinforced composites revels that
more voids and not in uniform distribution of particles, results in
load-bearing capacity was reduced as shown in Fig. 12d.
4. Conclusion
The mechanical properties and the microstructure of Al-4.5 wt %
Cu alloy with the addition of MoS2 as reinforcement were investi-
gated. The major conclusions were drawn below:
(1) The MoS2 particles distribution was uniformly observed from
microstructure and the clear interface between particles and
matrix alloy was noticed. The applied load transfer from
matrix to reinforcement through the interface.
(2) The density of composites increased with the addition of
weight percentage of MoS2 due to high-density value of
MoS2 than matrix alloy. The porosity was noticed due to air
intake during stirring, at higher speed vortex can be gener-
ated and air may be sucked into the melt.
(3) The micro-hardness of composites increased with the addi-
tion of the weight percentage of 0 wt % to 4 wt% of MoS2 and
starts to decrease at 6 wt% of MoS2 due to particle agglom-
eration and porosity increased.
(4) The ultimate tensile strength of composites increased with
the addition of the weight percentage of 0 wt % to 4 wt % of
MoS2 and a further increase in wt.% of MoS2 decrement was
noticed. And the percentage of elongation decreases con-
cerning the addition of weight percentage of MoS2. The
strength of composite enhanced due to the difference in CTE
288
International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 4 (2021) 281e289
of matrix and reinforcement, this may lead to an increase in
dislocation density. It is proven that the increase in disloca-
tion density, the strength of the material can be enhanced.
(5) Fracture mechanism was revealed with SEM images that
bigger size and uniform dimples were noticed in matrix alloy
and dimple size decreased with the addition of MoS2. The
reduction in dimple size due to grain refinement occurred
with the addition of reinforcement.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflicts of interest.
References
[1] D.K. Das, P.Ch Mishra, S. Singh, R.K. Thakur, Properties of ceramic-reinforced
aluminium matrix composite-a review, Int. J. Mech. Mater. Eng. 9 (12)
(2014 August 20) 1e16, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40712-014-0012-9.
[2] C.D. Yang, S.P. Wang, J.J. Shi, C.H. Wang, Z.M. Ren, G.H. Cao, Microstructures
and mechanical properties of as-cast titaniumezirconiumemolybdenum
ternary alloys, Mater. Sci. Eng. Technol. 49 (2018 January 30) 30e38, https://
doi.org/10.1002/mawe.201700060.
[3] P. Garg, A. Jamwal, D. Kumar, S. Kishor Kumar, H.Ch Mustansar, P. Gupta,
Advance research progresses in aluminium matrix composites: manufacturing
& applications, J. Mater. Res. Technol. 8 (5) (2019 July 4) 4924e4939, https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2019.06.028.
[4] N. Ahamad, A. Mohammad, S. Kishor Kumar, P. Gupta, Phase, microstructure
and tensile strength of Al-Al2O3-C hybrid metal matrix composites, Proc I
Mech E Part C: J. Mech. Eng. Sci. 234 (13) (2020 July 1) 2681e2693, https://
doi.org/10.1177/0954406220909846.
[5] Malaiyappan Prakash, S. Vignesh, Experimental investigation of aluminum
graphite and MOS2 composite materials, Mater. Sci. Eng. (2019) 574, https://
doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/574/1/012001.
[6] N. Ahamad, Aas Mohammad, S. Kishor Kumar, P. Gupta, Structural and me-
chanical characterization of stir cast AleAl2O3eTiO2 hybrid metal matrix
composites, J. Compos. Mater. 54 (21) (2020 September 1) 1e13, https://
doi.org/10.1177/0021998320906207.
[7] Y. Pazhouhanfar, B. Eghbali, Microstructural characterization and mechanical
properties of TiB2 reinforced Al6061 matrix composites produced using stir
casting process, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 710 (2018 January 5) 172e180, https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2017.10.087.
G.B. Rao, P.K. Bannaravuri, R. Raja et al.
[8] J.S. David Joseph, B. Kumaragurubaran, S. Sathish, Effect of MoS2 on the wear
behaviour of aluminium (AlMg0.5Si) composite, Silicon 12 (2019 August 17)
1481e1489, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-019-00238-x.
[9] S. Maivizhi Selvi, A. Saravanakumar, G. Isaac Daniel Raj, N. Keerthana,
G.D. Madhanagopa, G. Nikhilesh, Influence of MoS2 on Microstructure and
Mechanical behaviours of Al6061- Al2O3 hybrid composite, Appl. Mech. Mater.
813e814 (2015 November) 62e66, 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.813-
814.62.
[10] A. Jamwal, P. Mittal, R. Agrawal, Sumit Gupta, D. Kumar, S. Kishor Kumar,
P. Gupta, Towards sustainable copper matrix composites: manufacturing
routes with structural, mechanical, electrical and corrosion behaviour,
J. Compos. Mater. 54 (19) (2020 August 1) 2635e2649, https://doi.org/
10.1177/0021998319900655.
[11] A. Jamwal, P. Prakash Seth, D. Kumar, R. Agrawal, S. Kishor Kumar, P. Gupta,
Microstructural, tribological and compression behaviour of Copper matrix
reinforced with Graphite-SiC hybrid composites, Mater. Chem. Phys. 251
(September 1) (2020) 123090, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2020.
123090.
[12] D.M. Skibo, D.M. Schuster, L. Jolla, Process for Preparation of Composite Ma-
terials Containing Non-metallic Particles in a Metallic Matrix and Composite
Materials Made, US Patent No. 4786467A, 1988.
[13] P. Sharma, S. Sharma, K. Dinesh, A study on microstructure of aluminium
matrix composites, J. Asian Ceram. Soc. 3 (3) (2015 May 14) 240e244, https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jascer.2015.04.001.
[14] M. Şimşek, A.D. Sevcan, G. Menemse, Anticellular PEO coatings on titanium
surfaces by sequential electrospinning and crosslinking processes, Emergent
Mater 2 (2019 August 26) 169e179, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42247-019-
00040-w.
[15] Xiang Ding, Sohail Ahmed, Nina Bao, Jun Ding, Rong Liu, Jiabao Yi, Clustering-
induced high magnetization in Co-doped TiO2, Emergent Mater 2 (2019
October 19) 295e301, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42247-019-00056-2.
[16] E.M. Fayyad, A.M. Abdullah, M.K. Hassan, A.M. Mohamed, G. Jarjoura,
Zoheir Farhat, Recent advances in electroless-plated Ni-P and its composites
for erosion and corrosion applications: a review, Emergent Mater 1 (2018
August 15) 3e24, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42247-018-0010-4.
[17] K.K. Chawla, On the applicability of the “rule-of-mixtures” to the strength
properties of metal-matrix composites, Revista Brasileira de Fisica 4 (3) (1974)
411e418.
[18] N. Radhika, R. Subramanian, Effect of reinforcement on wear behavior of
aluminum hybrid composites, Tribol. Mater. Surface Interfac. 7 (1) (2013
November 18) 36e41, https://doi.org/10.1179/1751584X13Y.0000000025.
[19] B.P. Kumar, A.K. Birru, Microstructure and mechanical properties of
aluminium metal matrix composites with addition of bamboo leaf ash by stir
casting method, Trans. Nonferrous Metals Soc. China 27 (January 2) (2018)
2555e2572, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1003-6326(17)60284-X.
[20] B. Praveen Kumar, A.K. Birru, Characterization of Al-4.5%Cu alloy with the
addition of silicon carbide and bamboo leaf ash, Kovove Mater. Metal. Mater.
56 (Octomber 24) (2018) 325e337, https://doi.org/10.4149/km.201.5.325.
[21] B. Praveen Kumar, A.K. Birru, Strengthening of mechanical and tribological
properties of Al-4.5% Cu matrix alloy with the addition of bamboo leaf ash,
Result Phys. 10 (2018 June 15) 360e373, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.rinp.2018.06.004.
289
International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 4 (2021) 281e289
[22] B. Praveen Kumar, A.K. Birru, Strengthening of Al-4.5% Cu alloy with the
addition of silicon carbide and bamboo leaf ash, Int. J. Struct. Integr. 10 (2)
(2019 April 8) 149e161, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSI-03-2018-0018.
[23] B. Praveen Kumar, A.K. Birru, U.S. Dixit, Effect of laser surface melting on
surface integrity of Al4.5Cu composites reinforced with SiC and MoS2, Trans.
Nonferrous Metals Soc. China 30 (2020 March 4) 344e362, https://doi.org/
10.1016/S1003-6326(20)65217-7.
[24] Yun-hui Du, Peng Zhang, Wei-yi Zhang, Yu-jie Wang, Distribution of SiC
particles in semisolid electromagnetic-mechanical stir-casting Al-SiC com-
posite, China Foundry 15 (September 22) (2018) 351e357, https://doi.org/
10.1007/s41230-018-8086-2.
[25] P. Sharma, S. Sharma, K. Dinesh, Effect of graphite reinforcement on physical
and mechanical properties of aluminium metal matrix composites, Part. Sci.
Technol. 34 (1) (2015 October 9) 17e22, https://doi.org/10.1080/
02726351.2015.1031924.
[26] A. Wilczek, P. Długosz, M. Hebda, Porosity characterization of aluminium
castings by using Particular non-destructive techniques, J. Nondestr. Eval. 34
(2015 July 31), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-015-0302-z.
[27] A.A. Daniela, M. Sakthivel, M. Kumara, S. Sukkasamy, Dry sliding wear
behaviour of aluminium 5059/SiC/MoS2 hybrid metal matrix composites,
Mater. Res. 20 (6) (2017 September 28) 1697e1706, https://doi.org/10.1590/
1980-5373-mr-2017-0009.
[28] D.S. Prasad, Ch Shoba, N. Ramanaiah, Investigations on mechanical properties
of aluminum hybrid composites, J. Mater. Res. Technol. 3 (1) (2014 January
17) 79e85, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2013.11.002.
[29] S.E. Shin, D.H. Bae, Deformation behavior of aluminum alloy matrix com-
posites reinforced with few-layer graphene, Compos. Appl. Sci. Manuf. 78
(2015 August 5) 42e47, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2015.08.001.
[30] N. Kumar, G. Gaurav, G. Rakesh Kumar, Anita Mohan, Sunil Mohan, A study on
mechanical properties and strengthening mechanisms of AA5052/ZrB2 in situ
composites, J. Eng. Mater. Technol. 139 (1) (2016 October 6), https://doi.org/
10.1115/1.4034692.
[31] R.J. Arsenault, N. Shi, Dislocation generation due to differences between the
coefficients of thermal expansion, Mater. Sci. Eng. 81 (2003 June 11) 175e187,
https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-5416(86)90261-2.
[32] D.S. Prasad, A. Rama Krishna, Effect of heat treatment on the damping behavior
of A356.2/RHA composites, Bull. Mater. Sci. 35 (6) (2012 November) 989e995.
[33] R. Bhargavi, N. Ramanaiahb, Evaluation of mechanical properties of
aluminium alloy (Al-2024) reinforced with molybdenum disulphide (MoS2)
metal matrix composites, Procedia Mater. Sci. 6 (September 9) (2014)
1161e1169, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mspro.2014.07.189.
[34] F.A.R. Rozhbiany, S. Rashied Jalal, Influence of reinforcement and processing
on aluminum matrix composites modified by stir casting route, Adv. Compos.
Lett. 28 (2019 December 24), https://doi.org/10.1177/2633366X19896584.
[35] A.O. Inegbenebor, C.A. Bolu, P.O. Babalola, A.I. Inegbenebor, O.S.I. Fayomi,
Aluminum silicon carbide Particulate metal matrix composite development
via stir casting processing, Silicon 10 (2016 October 26) 343e347, https://
doi.org/10.1007/s12633-016-9451-7.
[36] J. Mohapatra, S. Nayak, M.M. Mahapatra, Mechanical and tribology properties
of Al-4.5%Cu-5%TiC metal matrix composites for light-weight structures, Inter.
J. Lightweight Mater. Manuf. 3 (2019 October 7) 120e126, https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.ijlmm.2019.09.004.