Mechanical and tribological behaviour of Al₂TiO₅ particle-reinforced AA5052 composite

A study was conducted to produce and characterize composites consisting of AA5052 reinforced with Al₂TiO₅ using the bottom pouring stir-casting method. The weight percentages (wt%) of the five distinct AA5052 compositions were 0, 1, 2, 3 and 3.5. To evaluate the density, porosity, microstructure, tensile strength, microhardness and sliding wear, a central composite response surface methodology (RSM) technique was used. The density of the composites gradually increased from the initial matrix as Al₂TiO₅ particles were added in small amounts. Microstructural analysis of the AA5052 and Al₂TiO₅ composites revealed that the Al₂TiO₅ particles in the matrix alloy were finely dispersed. The reinforced composite specimens demonstrated an improvement in microhardness and tensile strength of 28.15 and 14.26%, respectively, over the as-cast specimens. To investigate the effects of load, reinforcement weight percentage and sliding distance on composite specimens, a total of 16 experimental runs were conducted using RSM. The wear rate and coefficient of friction of the composites were found to be most affected by the applied wear load and the weight percentage of Al₂TiO₅. The wear specimens’ fracture surfaces displayed a combination of ploughing and abrasive processes.