Investigation of mechanical and machinability properties of SiC particle reinforced Al-MMC

The paper presents the results of experimental investigation on mechanical and machinability properties of silicon carbide particle (SiC-p) reinforced aluminium metal matrix composite. The influence of reinforced ratios of 5, 10 and 15 wt.% of SiC-p on mechanical properties was examined. The effect of machining parameters, e.g. cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut on tool wear and surface roughness was studied. It was observed that increase of reinforcement element addition produced better mechanical properties such as impact toughness and hardness, but tensile strength showed different trend; increased upto 10 wt.% of SiC-p reinforced and then decreased when 15 wt.% of SiC-p reinforcement addition. Machinability properties of the selected material were studied and higher SiC-p reinforcement produced a higher tool wear; surface roughness was generally affected by feed rate and cutting speed.