Flyash and carbon fibers reinforced aluminum-based matrix composite for structural applications

Aluminum alloy and its composite showed excellent physical and mechanical properties. But still, there is a scope in improving the mechanical properties of the composite for the structural, automobile, and aerospace industry. The composites have been prepared to reach the needs of the industry. In this present work, micro-fillers such as fly ash, and carbon fiber reinforcements were added to the base AA7076 matrix and fabricated the composite using a motorized stir casting technique. AA7076/fly ash and AA7076/carbon fiber composites were prepared by varying wt.% percent of fly ash and carbon fiber reinforcements (0.5, 0.75, 1, and 1.25 wt.%) and results were compared. The SEM micrographs revealed the homogeneous distribution of fly ash and carbon fiber reinforcements along the grain boundaries of the AA7076 matrix material. The composites with 1 wt.% of micro-fillers showed superior hardness and tensile strength as compared to other reinforcement composite and base matrix. The experimental test results revealed that the addition of fly ash and carbon fiber reinforcements improved the mechanical properties of the AA7076/fly ash and AA7076/carbon fiber composites as compared to the AA7076 matrix material. Among them, the comparative study revealed that the AA7076/carbon fiber composite has showed homogeneous distribution of reinforcements and improved mechanical properties.