Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al6061-Sicp Casted Composites

Stir casting process is used for producing discontinuous particle reinforced metal matrix composites for decades.To obtain sufficient wetting of particle by liquid metal and to get a homogenous dispersion of the ceramic particles is a challenging task.The present paper focuses on microstructure and mechanical properties of uncoated and Ni-P coated SiC reinforced Al6061composites produced by stir casting method.Electroless plating technique was used to nickel coat SiC particles.The extent of incorporation of reinforcements was varied from 2 to 10 wt% in steps of 2wt%.Major objective of the work was to obtain high quality cast MMCs with minimal porosity using metallic coated reinforcement.Results reveal that, increased content of SiC particles in matrix alloy increases various mechanical properties of both uncoated and Ni-P coated SiC reinforced composites. However, when compared with uncoated composites, Ni-P coated SiC reinforced composites exhibited improvised properties.