Development Of Aluminium 5083/B4C/Carbonized Coconut

Shell Ash Hybrid Composite Using Friction Stir Processing

Harish T M, Suni Mathai, Harisankar M,Blitz Francis,Anandu Venugopal V,
Anand G Illimattathil
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal Institute of Science and Technology, Ernakulam, Kerala, India

Abstract
Aluminium alloy 5083 base matrix hybrid composite is widely used in shipbuilding
and automobile applications due to its exceptional corrosion resistance and high
resistance over the attack by seawater and industrial chemicals. The surface
composite is synthesized by friction stir processing, as AA5083 with constant
proportions (5%) of boron carbide and varying percentages (3 and 8%) of carbonized
coconut shell ash as reinforcement particles. A varying percentage of carbonized
coconut shell ash has been studied with the addition of boron carbide and its effects
were analyzed. In this paper, mechanical properties were analyzed by micro hardness
test, wear test and tensile test. Results showed a significant increase in the wear rate
and hardened value of the surface composite. The usage of coconut shell ash as
reinforcement not only enhances the properties of the surface composite but also
promotes sustainability through the waste disposal of one of the agricultural by-
product.

Keywords: Aluminium alloy 5083; Friction stir processing; carbonized coconut shell
ash; Hybrid composite; Boron carbide
1. Introduction
Aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) have gained immense popularity and
acceptance in past three decades owing to their high strength to weight ratio and
superior wear resistance. AMCs possess a specific set of physical, chemical and
mechanical properties that are hard to obtain from a monolithic compound. AMCs
provide lesser wear resistance when compared to steel and hence it is widely used as
a matrix metal [1]. Aluminum 5083 is a non-heat treatable alloy, widely used in
shipbuilding, armor plate, marine, railroad cars, and storage tank applications because
of its corrosion resistance, low density, and exceptional strength after welding [2].
The corrosion resistance of 5xxx series alloys is good and their mechanical properties
make them ideally suited for structural use in aggressive conditions (such as marine
vessels) [4]. Several researches has instigated the use of agro wastes as
complementary reinforcements in AMCs, as it has enhanced the mechanical
properties of the various composites developed in comparison to the as-cast materials .
The higher deposit of silica and hematite in the agro-waste makes it desirable as
reinforcement. Also the cost reduction is one of the primary advantages achieved by
the hybrid composites.
Surface composites have been emerging as an attractive way to enhance the surface
hardness and protect it against wear and tear. The technique also allows incorporation
of hard ceramic reinforcement into the modified surface to further enhance the
hardness. Friction stir processing (FSP) has emerged as an effective technique for
surface modification and hardening. Friction stir processing can significantly improve
the hardness, wear resistance, ductility, etc., while preventing defects caused by
material melting. In principle, FSP is a thermo mechanical process which involves
severe plastic deformation of the material at elevated temperatures, typically greater
than 0.5Tm. Temperatures as high as 0.9Tm have been reported during FSP and since
there are no evidences of melting it are considered as a solid state process [5].
Coconut shell ash (CSA) has been reported to have produced the highest activated
carbon among the agro waste materials .CSA also has a higher concentration of
SiO2(around 48%) which will contribute to increased hardness and wear
resistance[4,5].
The disadvantages that are struck on the aluminium alloys involving surface
interactions are its low strength and low melting point. It can cost effectively be
reduced by the addition of reinforcements like B 4C, SiC, Al2O3 and SiO2 on
Aluminium matrix on the surface, which consequently aids the improvement in its
thermal properties and specific elastic modulus [6]. The manufacturing of Aluminium
composite by the addition of coconut shell ash as reinforcement will help to enhance
its mechanical properties [4, 7]. On addition of CSA most of the property
improvement can be seen within the range of 10% CSA [7]. Further increase in the
amount of reinforcements added over a certain point results in the development of
new sites for crack initiation thereby also decreasing the capacity of the composite to
bear the load and increase in the wear rate. Considering all the details, we selected a
maximum of 8% of CSA as reinforcement.
2. Materials

2.1 Matrix material

AA5083 is used as the matrix material as it is highly resistant to attack by
seawater and industrial chemicals and also retains exceptional strength after
welding and thus finding various industrial applications. Uses requiring a
weldable moderate-strength alloy having good corrosion resistance are
commonly utilizing alloy 5083.The product offers the highest strength of all
the non-heat-treatable alloys but should not be used in temperatures above
65°C.The chemical composition of the matrix material is given in Table.1.

Table.1:
The Chemical Composition of AA5083 (wt %)

Element Zn Ti Si Mn Mg Fe Cu Cr Base
Composition 0.25 0.15% 0.4% 0.4 4.0 0.4% 0.1% 0.05- Al
% max max to to max max 0.25%
max 1.0% 4.9% max

2.2. Reinforcement

2.2.1 Coconut Shell Ash

One of the major agricultural wastes alongside rice husk, bagasse, corn hub
etc. is coconut shell. By changing the weight percentage of CSA in the
composite, its effects on different properties were carefully studied. The
composition of CSA is given in table.2. Table.3 shows the weight percentages
of CSA been used in this study.

Table.2:
 Composition of CSA
Element Al2O CaO Fe2O3 K2O MgO Na2O SiO2 MnO ZnO
3

Composition 15.6 0.57 12.4 0.52 16.2 0.45 45. 0.22 0.3
05

2.2.2 Boron Carbide

Boron carbide (chemical formula approximately B4C) is an extremely hard
boron–carbon ceramic and covalent material used in tank armour, bulletproof
vests, engine sabotage powders as well as numerous industrial applications. A
limited research work has been reported on AMCs reinforced with B4C due to
higher raw material cost and poor wetting. B4C is a robust material having
excellent chemical and thermal stability, high hardness (HV = 30 GPa), and
low density (2.52 g/cm3) and it is used for manufacturing bullet proof vests,
armor tank etc. Boron Carbide of average size 35micro meter were used in
this work.

3. Fabrication of surface composite

On the commencement of the work, Al5083 plates of dimensions 200×105×9

mm were procured. A specialized tool for FSP was designed with square pin
and was fabricated using a H13 tool steel. The tool design is as shown in the
fig 1. A H13 tool steel rod of 20mm diameter was lathed and surface hardened
to manufacture the tool as per the design. FSP performed with square pin
profile gives higher average surface microhardness when compared to other
profiles. An existing milling machine was modified to perform FSP. Trial runs
were carried out to determine the optimum parameters for the process. Thus
the optimum parameters were found out as: traverse speed − 1000 rpm, feed
rate − 16 mm/min, tilt angle − 20, plunge depth − 6 mm. Using these
parameters FSP was performed on the specimens as per Table 3, with two
passes in opposite direction, so as to achieve uniform distribution of
reinforcing particles in the surface composite layer. The fabricated plate is as
shown in Fig. 2.

Table.3:
Composition of hybrid composites in weight percentage
Specimen Al5083 B4C CSA
I 92 5 3
II 87 5 8
 Fig 1: FSP Tool Design

Fig 2: Surface composites by FSP with reinforcement compositions (a)

5%B4C+3%CCSA (b) 5%B4C+8%CCSA

4. Results and discussions

Microstructural Examination
For analyzing the distribution of the reinforcement’s particles in the matrix the
processed area is analyzed through an optical microscope. Fig 3 The
specimens were polished and examined through the microscope.
Accumulation of the reinforcement particles in the matrix was visible[8]. In
the composition 5%b4c and 3% CCSA, the CCSA particles were not
uniformly distributed, as a result agglomeration of the CCSA were identified
and in the case of the b4c the particles were mostly uniformly distributed.
Porosity was identified in the stir zone which leads to the pore nucleation at
the matrix CCSA particle interface. When the volume fraction of the CCSA
was increase, the both the particles got distributed and the agglomeration got
reduced. The clustering of the reinforcments in the matrix mainly the CCSA
was due to the poor wettability of the particles as the amount of the particles
increased the images seems to be the better distributed one. The clusters
formed in the matrix were confirmed by using scanning electron microscopy
images. The particles are clustered mainly in the 5%B4C and 3% CCSA
which leads to the improved mechanical properties of the surface composite.

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) is done along with the combination of

Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) helps to confirm the presence
of the B4C in the aluminum matrix. The intermetallic phases formed were
visible in the SEM image. Fig 4 Shows EDS result of sample II (5% B4C and
8% C) and Fig 6.5 Shows the result of the sample I (5% B4C and 3% CCSA).
From the EDS result contains a peak of oxygen which implies the oxide
presence of elements in the composites.

10µm

(a)

10µm

(b) (c)
Fig 3: Optical Microscopy image of composites (a) Parent metal, (b) Specimen I (b)
Specimen II

(a) (b)
Fig 4: Scanning Electron Microscopy of (a) Specimen I (b) Specimen II

(a) (b)

Fig 5: Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy of (a) Specimen I, (b) Specimen II

Vickers Micro hardness test

The hardness of a material is a physical parameter indicating the ability to

resist local plastic deformation. Vickers micro hardness test was conducted
using FSA Micro Hardness Testing Machine according to ASTM E384
standard. On a sample of size 50 × 10 × 10 mm, the size of the indentation left
by the diamond indenter when pressed into the sample for a load of 500g for
about 10 seconds is measured. The microhardness shows a gradual increase
with the addition of reinforcement.

Fig 3 shows the hardness survey of both the newly fabricated surface
composite samples. The maximum hardness is obtained for the specimen with
5% B4C and 3% CCSA, which was 110HV when compared to the base metal
alloy Al5083 with 79.4HV. For the specimen with 5% B4C and 8% CCSA,
the hardness value increased to 102 HV when compared with base Al5083
alloy. But for the specimen with 5% B4C and 8% CCSA the accumulation
leads to non-uniform distribution of the reinforcements in the matrix. The
comparison of hardness values between the parent material and different
composites are shown in the table 4.

HARDNESS VALUE vs DISTANCE

120

Hardness
100 Value

80

60 Sample I
Sample II

40

20

0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8

Distance (mm)

Fig.6. Micro Hardness Survey

 SAMPLE HARDNESS (HV)
Al5053 79.4
Sample A Al5083+5%B4C+8%CCSA 102
Sample B Al5083+5%B4C+3%CCSA 110

Table 4: Micro Vickers Hardness values

4.2 Tensile Test

Tensile test was conducted in tensile strength testing machine according to

ASTM E8 standards. Six samples were tested with three each from both
Sample A (5% of B4C and 8% of CCSA) and Sample B (5% of B4C and 3%
of CCSA) respectively. The specimens were loaded into the machine and
tensile test was performed. The data was recorded electronically in text files
and the load-displacement curve was shown on the computer screen as a
visual representation.

In the tensile test, surface composite consisting of 3% ash shows greater

tensile strength as compared to the other composition. The ultimate tensile
strength of the sample B composite is about 239.62 MPa with an elongation of
32%. Sample A provides an ultimate tensile strength of 125MPa under an
elongation of 25.4%. Thus a gradual decrease in the tensile strength is
observed on improved addition of reinforcements. The variations in the tensile
strength of a different set of samples are shown in the table 5. Ultimate
Tensile Strength comparisons between the fabricated composites are shown in
fig 4.
 Sample Tensile Load Ultimate Tensile % Elongation
Strength
A 6068N 125.01MPa 25.4
B 11631N 239.62MPa 32

Table 5: Tensile Strength Values

Fig7: Ultimate Tensile Strength Graph

5. Conclusion

 An improvement in the properties of alloy is achieved by reinforcing

Al5083 with CCSA and it also promotes environmental sustainability
through waste disposal.
 From optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, the
particle distribution in the aluminum matrix were analyzed.
 The Vickers Micro hardness test result shows that, by the introduction
of CCSA and B4C the hardness of the newly developed surface
composites have improved
  At higher composition of reinforcements, a gradual decrease in the
Ultimate tensile strength is observed due to the agglomeration of
reinforcement particles.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or
personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported
in this paper

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