Hardness and corrosion behaviour of stir cast LM26 Al/sugar palm fibre ash composites
Multidiscipline Modeling in Materials and Structures
ISSN: 1573-6105
Article publication date: 23 May 2023
Issue publication date: 5 June 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The conflicting results on the corrosion characteristics of aluminium matrix composites reinforced with agrarian waste have stimulated an investigation on the hardness and corrosion rate of sugar palm fibre ash (SPFA) reinforced LM26 Al/alloy composite by varying the SPFA from 0 to 10 wt% in an interval of 2 wt%. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The composites were produced via stir-casting and the hardness was determined using a Vickers hardness testing machine, corrosion rate was examined through the weight loss method by immersion in 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) at temperatures of 303, 318, and 333 K for the maximum duration of 120 h. The morphological study was conducted using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) on the samples before and after immersion in HCl.
Findings
The incorporation of SPFA improved the hardness of the alloy from 58.22 to 93.62 VH after 10 wt% addition. The corrosion rate increases with increased content of SPFA, the concentration of HCl and temperature. The least corrosion rate of 0.0272 mpy was observed for the LM26 Al alloy in 0.5 M after 24 h while the highest corrosion rate of 0.8511 mpy was recorded for LM26 Al/10 wt% SPFA in 1.5 M HCl acid after 120 h. The SEM image of corroded samples revealed an increased number of pits with increased SPFA content.
Research limitations/implications
The work is limited to SPFA up to 10 wt% as reinforcement in LM26 Al alloy, the use of HCl as corrosion medium, temperatures in the range of 303–333 K, and a weight loss method were used to evaluate the corrosion rate.
Originality/value
The corrosion rate was determined for LM26 Al/SPFA composites with various amounts of SPFA in 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 M HCl at 303, 318 and 333 K and compared with the matrix alloy.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support of this work through a research grant from Universiti Putra Malaysia (GP-IPS/2021/9702700 and GP/IPS/2021/9697100), facilities and financial support from Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic in Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria.
Citation
Aliyu, I., Sapuan, S.M., Zainudin, E.S., Zuhri, M.Y.M. and Ridwan, Y. (2023), "Hardness and corrosion behaviour of stir cast LM26 Al/sugar palm fibre ash composites", Multidiscipline Modeling in Materials and Structures, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 748-765. https://doi.org/10.1108/MMMS-10-2022-0219
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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