Fabrication, microstructure, and machinability of aluminum metal-matrix composites

Today, researchers across the world focus on sustainable products, and, accordingly, it is now imperative to develop sustainable MMCs. In line with this, ongoing experimental work aims to fabricate aluminum 6061 MMC with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and study the micro-structural and machinability characteristics. A liquid state stir casting setup is used to melt aluminum 6061 alloy and reinforced with 2.5 wt.%, 5.0 wt.%, and 7.5 wt.% of GGBS. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies were used to identify the chemical elements that were present in the fabricated samples. In order to observe the formation of any secondary elements, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized on the cast composites. Through the milling process, the influence of the GGBS reinforcement composition on the surface roughness (SR) and material removal rate (MRR) of aluminum 6061 MMC was examined, considering the parameters of spindle speed, feed rate, depth of cut, and reinforcement composition percentage. The L₉ orthogonal array (OA) was used to investigate the results of the experiments, and the Taguchi technique was used to optimize the process. The best MRR value was produced by the feed rate (B3) of 260 mm³/min and the depth of cut (C3) of 0.75 mm. The study ascertained that the lower SR value is attained corresponding to a spindle speed of 1,250 rpm, a feed rate of 220 mm³/min, a depth of cut of 0.25 mm, and a reinforcement composition percentage of Al 6061 with 5% GGBS.