Production and evaluation of ceramic and metal matrix composite by powder metallurgy

The quest to looking for new materials with improved performance in service is on the increase these days. This is one of the reasons why materials development is essential to reduce the cost of material procurement as well as having better results/performance. It is also what necessitated this research work. Sample of a natural clay deposit was milled in a ball mill to obtain -150 microns and its composition was determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy. -212 microns of iron filing was mixed with the clay in different proportions and compacted to produce 9 samples as follows: sample A 10 % clay with 90 % iron filing, B, 20 % clay 80 % iron filing, C, 30 % clay 70 % iron filing, D, 40 % clay 60 % iron filing, E, 50 % clay 50 % iron filing, F, 60 % clay 40 % iron filing, G, 70 % clay 30 % iron filing, H, 80 % clay 20 % iron filing and sample I, 90 % clay 10 % iron filing. The Compressed samples were sintered in a muffle furnace at a temperature of 1000O C and was held for 2 hours. Each sample was analysed for hardness, porosity, compressive strength and abrasive strength. The optimum results for the above test were obtained when the clay content was not more than 60 %.