Characterization of Aluminium Flyash Particulate Metal Matrix

Composites for Application to Wings of Plane

1
Aldrin Sugin M.S., 2Vaddi Seshagiri Rao, and 3Purushothaman S

Aldrin Sugin M.S.

Research Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Sathyabama University, Chennai, India-600119
aldrin_sugin@rediffmail.com

Vaddi Seshagiri Rao

Professor and Head,Dept. of Mechanical Engineering,
St. Joseph's College of Engineering, Chennai, India-600119
raosvaddi@hotmail.com

Purushothaman S.,
Professor and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering
PET Engineering College, Vallioor, India- 627117
<drsppuru@gmail.com
Abstract

The outer surface of the airplane wing is made of aluminum like duralumin or composite
materials due to their lightweight and rust-resistant properties in the modern aircraft. This paper
presents the possible application of aluminium flyash metal matrix composites (AlF-MMC) as an
alternative to other existing composites in use for the construction of outer surface of the wing of a
plane. Any material used for construction of wing of a plane should have high strength to weight ratio,
resist extreme temperature changes, and provide high yield strength and many other improved
mechanical properties. Different types of composites are in use already for the construction of outer
surface of the wing. In spite of that, this research work has attempted to study the mechanical
properties of AlF-MMC and find the suitability to the construction of skin of airplane wings.

Keywords: Aluminium flyash, metal matrix composite, wing of plane, radial basis function,
artificial neural network.

1. Introduction
There are two primary functional requirements that must be considered when considering materials for
use in an airplane wing. The first is high strength. As aircraft becomes larger, they become heavier.
The heavier aircraft requires a more lift force to obtain flight. Greater lift directly translates to greater
stress on the wings.
The second required property of a wing material would be light weight. As aircraft become
larger, they become heavier. If the materials used were not of sufficient lightweight, the payload of the
aircraft would be decreased. When the structure of the aircraft is made as light as possible the weight
savings can be used to carry extra cargo or passengers.
The material must be able to resist extreme temperature changes. Within the troposphere, the
atmospheric temperature can have an extreme amount of variation. There are two possible modes of
failure for a wing material at such altitudes. The first is that the temperature drop could make the
material brittle. This would lead to cracking and general failure as the wing would still be subjected to
the lift forces [1]. The other possibility is that the material would experience creep, or shrinkage, due to
the extreme temperature change. This could cause a void in the skin of the wing. The resulting airflow
disruption could cause a resonance in the wing’s structure that could tear it from the plane.

Material Properties Required to Satisfy Functional Requirements of wing of plane

In the case of an aircraft wing, the strength of a material would best be classified by both its yield
strength and elastic modulus. In the wing of an aircraft, there are stresses caused by the lift force along
the entire length. The stress applied to the wing increases closer to the fuselage of the plane. A material
with poor yield strength will be prone to permanent deformation in this area. In the air, any variation
from tolerance could prove catastrophic. The material used in the wing would also require a relatively
high elastic modulus. This would mean that the material would resist flexing when lift is applied. It
will also prove less susceptible to resonance caused by normal airflow around the wing [2].
The lightweight physical requirement translates almost directly to the density of the candidate
material. Regardless of the material used, the same volume of it will typically be required to produce a
given product. This means that given equal volumes, the less dense material will weigh less. This is a
crucial factor in any portion of the aircraft. Light weight is secondary to sufficient strength in this
particular application. The best property to use as a material selection criterion would be the strength-to
weight ratio of the material.

Composite Materials used in the Manufacture of Aircraft Wings

The focus for cutting edge materials in aircraft construction is shifting toward high strength composites
[3]. The materials typically used in the construction of aircraft wings are graphite composites. They
offer an exceptional amount of strength. Because of their structure, these composites have a relatively
low density. These two factors combined give a graphite composite material an excellent strength-to
weight ratio. Comparison of physical properties of composite materials and common metal are
presented in Table 1 [4]

Table 1 Physical properties of materials

Strength (MPa) 620-1400 350-620 140-240 240 410
Stiffness (GPa) 70-350 55-70 7-10 70 210
Density (kg/m3) 1400 1400 1500 2800 8300

Limitations of Composite Materials

Composite materials can possess greater properties for a given application than any traditional
engineering material. With all of the positive aspects of composite materials, there are two primary
factors that continue to limit their widespread applications. The first is the economic drawback.
Composite materials are extremely expensive to produce [5]. The price increase for the increased
properties of the composite is the prohibiting factor in many applications. This is also the reason the
aircraft industry has made the greatest advancement in the use of composites. Because of the harsh
operating environment the aircraft industry typically tends toward performance over cost based design.
The cost of composites is directly related to the difficulty in their production. Composite
materials are essentially a fledgling technology. While composite materials have been in existence for
more than fifty years, the technology required to mass produce is still a challenge. The high strength of
most composite materials makes them extremely difficult to cut to the proper size for an application
[6]. The technology required to produce composites is continually evolving and many professionals
maintain that they remain a viable material for future high performance engineering applications.

2. Problem definition
Wings of a plane develop heavy stress during flight. This is due to different types of natural forces that
are encountered by the wings during flight. In addition, it is burdened with heavy weight of body and
payload of the plane. High strength to weight ratio has been in use over a period of time for
construction of wings. Use of AlF-MMC in wing construction is analyzed. This is to overcome the
weakness of the composite implementation in wing construction.

3. Methodology
3.1 Manufacturing of aluminium flyash material.
Metal matrix composite materials have a combination of different superior properties to an unreinforced
matrix which arc increased in strength, higher elastic modulus. Higher serviced temperatures,
improved wear resistance, high electrical and thermal conductivity, low coefficient of thermal
expansion and high vacuum environmental resistance. These properties can be attained with the proper
choice of matrix and reinforcement. The matrix can be selected on the basis of oxidation, corrosion
resistance and other properties. Now a day's researcher all over the world is focusing mainly on
aluminium because of its unique combination of good corrosion resistance, low density and excellent
mechanical properties, Aluminium flyash [7-9] composite has low density. This composite has
potential applications in covers, shrouds, casings, manifolds, valve covers, garden furniture, and engine
blocks in the automotive, small engine and electro mechanical industry sectors. Flyash can be
classified into two categories: Precipitator and cenosphere. Precipitator flyash is a solid and has a
density of about 2- 2.5 gm /cm3. Cenosphere flyash is hollow and has a lower density of about
0.6gm/cm3.
Reinforcement increases the strength, stiffness, and the temperature resistance capacity and lowers
the density of MMC. In order to achieve these properties the selection depends on the type of
reinforcement, its method of production and chemical compatibility with the matrix and the following
aspects must be considered while selecting the reinforcement material.
Size -diameter and aspect ratio
Shape -fiber, whisker, irregular particulate
Surface morphology -smooth and rough, poly or single crystals.
Structural defects -voids , second phase.
Flyash has been used as the reinforcing particulates in aluminium matrix. Flyash [10-12] has received
attention as reinforcing phase as it is found to increase the hardness, tensile strength and wear resistance of
aluminium MMC.
Particulates arc the most common and cheapest reinforcement materials. These produces the isotropic
property of MMC's which shows promising application in structural fields The aluminium flyash silicon carbide
hybrid matrix composites have a good potential for use as wear resistant materials. Flyash particulate improves
properties such as hardness, wear resistance and compressive strength. If the composite is to be used in a structural
application, the modulus, strength and density of the composite will be important which requires high modulus,
low density reinforcement like flyash. If the composite is to be used in wear resistant applications, hardness is
important.

3.2 Materials
The pure aluminium ingots arc cut into small pieces. Coal is heated in the furnace. After sufficient
heat is applied, blower is switched on. Crucible is placed in the furnace. When sufficient amount of
heat is obtained in the crucible, aluminium pieces are put in it. When the crucible reaches about 600oC,
the aluminium pieces will melt into liquid. Slag is removed. When the molten metal get into a semi
solid condition, flyash is added to it and is mixed with stirrer. Then it kept cooled so as to become a
solid composite.
In stir casting process, the aluminium is melted at a controlled temperature and the desired
quantity of flyash is added to the molten metal. The molten metal is stirred continuously to create a
vortex to force the slightly lighter particle into the melt. Stirring is done continuously to disperse the
flyash particulate as uniformly as possible in a short time. For stirring the flyash and molten metal,
three blade propeller types are used. The matrix is then transformed into a preheated transfer ladle. The
material is stirred again and again and rod is formed.
4. Experimental setup and result discussion
4.1 Hardness test
Different mechanical tests were conducted. In order to evaluate the hardness of AlF-MMC, Brinell
hardness test method is used. It consists of indenting the test material with a 10 mm diameter hardened
steel or carbide ball subjected to a load of 1000kg. For softer material the load can be reduced to 150-
500kg to avoid excessive indentation. The full load is normally applied for 10-150 sec in the case of
iron and steel. The diameter of the indentation left in the test material is measured with a low powered
microscope. The Brinell hardness number is calculated by dividing the load applied by the surface area
in the indentation (Table 2). The Brinell hardness number increases as the flyash content increases to
15%. The diameter of indentation is also reduced at 15% when compared to less percentage of flyash
mixed with aluminium.

4.2 Tension test

A standard test piece of specimen diameter (40 mm) with specified gauge length is gripped at either
end of specimen by suitable apparatus in a universal testing machine (UTM). The machine exerts an
axial pull so that the specimen is stretched until it breaks. The test provides information on proof stress,
yield point, tensile strength, elongation and reduction in area (Table 3).

Table 2 Hardness test details

Aluminium + Aluminium + Aluminium +
5% flyash 10% flyash 15% flyash
Diameter of indenter 10mm 10mm 10mm
Applied load 1000kg 1000kg 1000kg
Diameter of 5.8 mm 5.7mm 5.64mm
indentation
Brinell hardness 34.3 35.7 36.5
Number (BHN)

Table 3 Tension test performance

Aluminium + Aluminium + Aluminium +
5% flyash 10% flyash 15% flyash
Maximum 15.94 KN 16.14KN 17.85KN
ultimate load
Deflection at 9.9mm 11.7mm 13.3mm
maximum load
Maximum 7.5mm 9.2mm 10.3mm
displacement at
fracture
Percentage of 8.3% 10.2% 12.4%
elongation

4.3 Bend test

Table 4 SEM photos of Bent specimen

5% Flyash + Aluminium 10% Flyash+Aluminium 15% Flyash+Aluminium

Bending strength of a specimen is evaluated using UTM whose capacity is 40 tones.
Diameter of rod = 24mm
Bending pan radius = 16mm
Length of the rod = 265mm
The scanning electron microscopy photographs are presented in Figures 1-3 for various percentages of
flyash with aluminium.

4.4 Toughness test (Charpy)

The Charpy test is most commonly used to evaluate the relative toughness (Table 5) or impact
toughness on the material. It is commonly used for metals. It is also used for polymers, ceramics, and
composites. It is often used in quality control application where it is fast and economical.

Table 5 Toughness test performance

S.No. Material Impact test Toughness
1. Aluminium Charpy 24
2. Aluminium +5% flyash Charpy 60
3. Aluminium +10% flyash Charpy 120
4. Aluminium +15% flyash Charpy 150

4.5 Composite Workability Data

Workability expresses the ability of a material being deformed for the load applied on the work piece.
The Figures 3.30 to 3.32 show plots for change in height, change in bulge diameter of the specimen
(for different aspect ratios of the work specimen) when load is applied.
40
Change in dimension, mm

30
Change in height

20 Top contact diameter

Bottom contact diameter

10 Bulge diameter

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Load kgs 4
x 10

Fig.1 Deformation plot for Aluminium 10% flyash with aspect ratio: 0.5
 40

Change in dimension, mm
35

30
Change in height
25
Top contact diameter
20
Bottom contact diameter
15 Bulge diameter

10

5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Load kgs 4
x 10

Fig.2 Deformation plot for Aluminium 10% flyash with aspect ratio: 0.75

50
Change in dimension, mm

40

Change in height
30
Top contact diameter

20 Bottom contact diameter

Bulge diameter
10

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Load kgs 4
x 10

Fig.3 Deformation plot for aluminium 10% flyash with aspect ratio: 1

5. Conclusion
This paper presents the outputs of experimental work performed on AlF-MMC with 5%, 10% and 15%
flyash as volume fractions. The hardness test has been performed to find out the resistance property
and Charpy test to find out toughness specimen. The bend test, tension test, have been done for better
understanding the behavior of AlF-MMC. Further analysis of the composite will be carried out to know
the applicability in aircraft wing manufacturing.

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