Effect of Heat Treatment on Slurry Erosive Wear Behaviour of Al 6061 Based Composites

Effect of Heat Treatment on Slurry Erosive Wear Behaviour of Al 6061 Based Composites

In the present investigation, Titanium di oxide (TiO2) reinforced Al 6061 composites fabricated using liquid metallurgy route with varying proportions by weight viz 4, 6, 8 and 10 percentage were subjected to precipitation hardening heat treatment. The performance of heat treated Al 6061 based Titanium di oxide composites in slurry erosive environment was examined. The slurry consists of equiaxed sand particles of size approximately 600 µm in 3.5%NaCl solution. The slurry erosive wear studies on heat treated Al 6061 alloy and Al 6061-TiO2 composites were carried out at under different test conditions. It was observed that with an increase in aging duration for all the quenching medias and for all the given test conditions there is a reduction in slurry erosive wear rate of both the base alloy and the composites, however ice as quenching media has a profound effect on the slurry erosive wear rate of both the base alloy and the composites studied.