A. MANIKANDAN et al.: INFLUENCE OF ZrB2 ON THE MICROSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AA6082/ZrB2 ...
327–332
INFLUENCE OF ZrB
2
ON THE MICROSTRUCTURAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF AA6082/ZrB
2
COMPOSITES
VPLIV ZrB
2
NA MIKROSTRUKTURNE KARAKTERISTIKE
AA6082/ZrB
2
KOMPOZITOV
Arumugam Manikandan
1,2*
, Meenakshi Sundaram Omkumar
1
, Vinayagam Mohanavel
3
1
Department of Manufacturing Engineering, College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University, Sardar Patel Road,
Chennai 600025, Tamilnadu, India
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Agni College of Technology, Old Mahabalipuram Road, Chennai 600130, Tamilnadu, India
3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kingston Engineering College, Chittoor Main Road, Vellore 632059, Tamilnadu, India
Prejem rokopisa – received: 2018-07-01; sprejem za objavo – accepted for publication: 2018-12-06
doi: 10.17222/mit.2018.133
In a recent scenario, particulate-reinforced aluminium-matrix composites (AMCs) are used for plenty of applications in aero-
space, non-structural, structural, transportation and automotive industries. This study concentrates on the manufacturing of
AA6082/ZrB2 aluminium-matrix composites (AMCs) using a liquid metallurgy process. The zirconium diboride particles of
three different weight percentage, i.e., (0, 3, 6 and 9) %, are reinforced with aluminium alloy (AA6082) using the stir casting
technique. Hardness, tensile and compression tests were conducted to evaluate the mechanical behaviour. The microstructures of
the composites were examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM microphotographs proved the successful
dispersion of ZrB2 particles into the aluminium matrix. The tensile fracture surface of the prepared composites and the plain
aluminium were examined with the SEM to understand the tensile fracture mechanism. Tensile fracture morphology reveals
different modes of fractures, like brittle and ductile. The unreinforced AA6082 plain matrix alloys are subjected to a ductile
mode of fracture, but with an increase in zirconium diboride the mode of failure gradually transforms to brittle fracture. The
mechanical properties of the composites are improved after the dispersion of ZrB2 particles. A tremendous improvement in the
mechanical properties of the AMCs was found for 9 w/% ZrB2 particles in the matrix.
Keywords: tensile strength, fracture morphology, AA6082 alloy, compression strength
Dandanes se kompoziti s kovinsko osnovo iz Al zlitin, ki so oja~ani z drobnimi karbidnimi delci (AMCs), uporabljajo za mnoge
aplikacije v letalski, vesoljski, konstrukcijski (gradbeni), nekonstrukcijski, transportni in avtomobilski industriji. Ta {tudija se je
osredoto~ila na izdelavo AMCs na osnovi AA6082/ZrB2 z uporabo metalurgije raztaljene kovine. Avtorji so cirkonijeve
diboridne delce v treh razli~nih masnih dele`ih, to je (0, 3, 6 in 9) % vme{avali v Al zlitino (AA6082) s t.i. tehniko vme{avanja
delcev v raztaljeno kovino in njenega intenzivnega preme{avanja (angl.: stir casting technique). Na preizku{ancih iz izdelanih
kompozitov so dolo~ili trdoto, natezno in tla~no trdnost. Mikrostrukturo kompozitov so opazovali pod vrsti~nim elektronskim
mikroskopom (SEM). SEM mikroposnetki so potrdili uspe{no disperzijo (enakomerno porazdelitev) ZrB2 delcev v matrici Al
zlitine. Za razumevanje mehanizmov loma nateznih preizku{ancev ~iste Al zlitine in izdelanih kompozitov so uporabili SEM
mikroposnetke. Morfologija preloma nateznih preizku{ancev je pokazala razli~ne tipe prelomov, od krhkega do `ilavega (duktil-
nega). Neoja~ana, ~ista Al zlitina AA6082 je kazala popolnoma `ilav prelom. Z nara{~ajo~im dele`em dodanih Zr diboridnih
delcev pa je prelom postopoma prehajal v krhki na~in. Mehanske lastnosti so se izbolj{evale s pove~evanjem disperzije ZrB2
delcev. Avtorji ugotavljajo, da je bistveno izbolj{anje mehanskih lastnosti AMCs nastopilo pri dodatku 9 w/% ZrB2 delcev.
Klju~ne besede: natezna trdnost, morfologija preloma, zlitina AA6082, tla~na trdnost
1 INTRODUCTION
Aluminium-matrix composites (AMCs) are exten-
sively used in the aircraft, marine, automobile and
defence sectors because of their outstanding strength-to-
weight ratio, low thermal expansion, high wear resist-
ance, etc. These are largely used in the fabrication of
automobile components like drive shafts, pistons,
cylinder liners and connecting rods.
1,2
There are different
processing routes available for the production of AMCs.
The processing routes can be divided into three groups,
namely, liquid-state processing, semi-solid-state process-
ing and solid-state processing.
3
The fabrication of AMCs
by the liquid metallurgy route is inexpensive, simple,
flexible and it is also applicable for mass production.
4
The liquid-state processing method contains either the
incorporation of ceramic particles externally or formed
inside the molten metal. The former is known as ex-situ
(stir casting technique), while the latter is called an in-
situ technique.
5
There are a massive number of techniques employed
to produce the composites. Among them, stir casting is
tremendously popular owing to its applicability for large
volume production and low production costs. In the stir
casting method, the matrix material was melted above
the re-crystallization temperature in the furnace and the
reinforcement particles were added into the molten metal
to prepare the composite material. The properties of the
composite material depend on the matrix material, rein-
forcement particle, shape and size of the reinforcement,
the volume percentage of the reinforcement and the
spatial distribution of the particles in the matrix. The stir
Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 53 (2019) 3, 327–332 327
UDK 620.1:669.715:661.883.1 ISSN 1580-2949
Original scientific article/Izvirni znanstveni ~lanek MTAEC9, 53(3)327(2019)
*Corresponding author e-mail:
feb08.mani@gmail.com

casting technique has shown some incomparable advant-
ages, like the uniform distribution of particles in the
matrix and strong interfacial bonding between the matrix
and the particle.
6–8
In the recent times, a huge number
research works have been going on by attempting
different reinforcement materials into aluminium matrix
to improve and enrich the properties of the composites.
Ex-situ ceramic particles, such as TiC, B
4
C, SiC, TiB
2
,
ZrB
2
,S i
3
N
4
,T i O
2
, have been extensively used as rein-
forcements in AMCs.
9–11
Among these reinforcement
particulates, (ZrB
2
) is a potentially attractive class of
reinforcement material for AMCs as it possesses a
desirable combination of physical and mechanical pro-
perties, including high strength, superior hardness, high
young’s modulus, low density and also better wear
resistance. Also, ZrB
2
does not react with molten alumi-
nium to form reaction products at the interface of the
matrix and reinforcement.
12–14
The fabrication of AA6082-alloy-based AMCs was
reported in some literature as presented here.
15–18
Pardeep
Sharma et al.
15
synthesized AA6082/Gr AMC by the stir
casting technique and evaluated the mechanical and
microstructure characteristics of the aluminium-matrix
composites. A. Thangarasu et al.
16
fabricated
AA6082/TiC composite AMCs using the stir casting
route and investigated the influence of TiC particles on
the mechanical and wear behaviour of the AMCs. They
concluded that the TiC particles enhanced the hardness,
tensile strength and wear resistance of the AMCs.
Pardeep Sharma et al.
17
fabricated AA6082 aluminium
reinforced Si
3
N
4
by the stir casting technique. They have
analysed the role of Si
3
N
4
particulates on the micro-
structure and mechanical properties of the AMCs. K.
Ravikumar et al.
18
worked on AA6082 aluminium
alloy-WC AMCs and reported the tensile surface mor-
phological and mechanical properties of the developed
composite.
An extensive review of several research articles
showed that no detailed findings are available for
Al-ZrB
2
composites prepared through a stir casting
route. The present study focuses on the production, mi-
crostructure characterization and mechanical properties
of ZrB
2
particulate-reinforced AA6082 alloy composites
fabricated through the stir casting technique. The micro-
structures of the AA6082 parent alloy and manufactured
composites were evaluated using scanning electron
microscopy (SEM). The SEM morphologies of the
fracture surfaces were examined to understand the tensile
fracture mechanism.
2 EXPERIMENTAL PART
2.1. Processing of composites
In this work, aluminium alloy AA6082 (Si: 1.1 %,
Fe: 0.2 %, Cu: 0.02 %, Mn: 0.8 %, Mg: 0.9 %, Zn: 0.1 %,
Cr: 0.15 %, Ti: 0.08 % and Al: balance) was employed
as the matrix material. Zirconium diboride (ZrB
2
)w a s
chosen as reinforcement for the fabrication of the com-
posite material in powder form. An SEM micrograph of
ZrB
2
is shown in Figure 1. The SEM micrographs of the
received ZrB
2
showed that the particles had a wide size
distribution and irregular shape. The average size of the
ZrB
2
particles was 40 μm.
The AA6082 rods were melted using an electrical
furnace in a graphite crucible. In order to remove the
moisture content and gases in the particulates preheating
of the ZrB
2
was carried at 400 °C for an hour. The stirrer
was lowered into the crucible and was maintained at a
constant speed of 400 min
–1
. The temperature of the fur-
nace was maintained at 850 °C and a calculated quantity
of reinforcement particles was added to the molten
aluminium. The melt was stirred erratically for the
A. MANIKANDAN et al.: INFLUENCE OF ZrB2 ON THE MICROSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AA6082/ZrB2 ...
328 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 53 (2019) 3, 327–332
Figure 2: Photograph of a typical batch of castings Figure 1: SEM images of ZrB
2
particles

duration of 20 min. After the execution of the process,
the melt was poured into a preheated die. Castings were
obtained for different weight fractions of particles as per
the same procedure. Figure 2 displays a typical batch of
castings.
2.2. Microstructure and mechanical testing
The stir-cast composite samples were machined, po-
lished using a standard metallographic procedure and
etched with Keller’s reagent. The microstructure was
observed using a scanning electron microscope attached
with an energy-dispersive spectroscope. The microhard-
ness of the base alloy and the prepared composites were
estimated by conducting Vickers hardness testing at
0.5 Kgf load, which is applied constantly for a dwell
time of 15 s. The measurement of the hardness was taken
at six locations on each specimen to obtain an average
value of the hardness. Tensile tests were carried out on
the computerised 100 KN Servo hydraulic universal
testing machine (Instron 8801) with a strain rate of 1.0
mm/min at room temperature. The tensile specimens
were prepared as per the ASTM E8 standard, having a
gauge length of 40 mm, a gauge width of 7 mm and a
thickness of 6 mm. For every combination, three tests
were conducted and the average values are reported. The
compression strength of the base matrix alloy and the
prepared composites were determined using a fully com-
puterised universal testing machine. The compression
specimens were prepared as per the ASTM E9 standard.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1. SEM and EDAX analysis of AA6082 alloy and
AA6082/ZrB
2
composites
Figure 3a presents the SEM images of the as-cast
matrix AA6082 alloy. Figure 3b to 3e records the SEM
microphotographs of the AA6082/ZrB
2
composites. The
microstructural examination proves the continuous
dissemination of ZrB
2
particles in the matrix and also
shows the sharp and clear interface between the ZrB
2
particle content and the AA6082 matrix. This kind of
dissemination is desirable as it helps to enhance the
properties of the composites. The SEM images clearly
show a clean and finer interface and strong bonding
between the reinforcement and the matrix. It could
improve the load bearing capacity of the composites.
5,14
Moreover, the Al matrix-ZrB
2
particle interface plays a
vital role in deciding the mechanical properties of the
composites. These findings agree with earlier studies by
several researchers.
2,19,20
Figures 3f and 3g depict the
energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) of the
AA6082 alloy and AA6082/ZrB
2
AMCs. The magne-
sium (Mg) and silicon (Si) particles in AA6082 are
conformed by carrying out EDAX analysis depicted in
Figure 3f. The element peaks of aluminium and the
chemical composition identified with a high-intensity
peak were magnesium and silicon. The extra elements
such as manganese and iron were identified with very
low peaks in the AA6082 alloy.
17
Figure 3g depicts the
EDAX pattern of 9 w/% ZrB
2
reinforced composite, it is
noticed from the EDAX pattern that the main elements
present are Al, Zr and B, which ensures that the elements
are homogeneously dispersed throughout the matrix.
3.2. Effect of ZrB
2
in the AA6082 matrix on hardness
The microhardness of the AA6082/ZrB
2
composites
is plotted in Figure 4. The hardness was recorded to 46
HV at 0 w/% of ZrB
2
to 81 HV at 9 w/% of ZrB
2
. The
hardness of the casted composites is linearly increased
with the increase in ZrB
2
particle content. The improve-
ment in hardness could be attributed to the continuous
distribution of ZrB
2
in the matrix and the particulate
strengthening effect of the AA6082 alloy. Several inves-
tigators reported a similar trend that the incorporation of
A. MANIKANDAN et al.: INFLUENCE OF ZrB2 ON THE MICROSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AA6082/ZrB2 ...
Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 53 (2019) 3, 327–332 329
Figure 3: SEM micrographs of AA6082/ZrB
2
composites containing
ZrB
2
content; a) 0 w/% ZrB
2
,b)3w/% ZrB
2
,c)6w/% ZrB
2
, d and e)
9 w/% ZrB
2
, f) EDAX analysis of AA6082 alloy and g) EDAX
analysis of AA6082/9 w/% ZrB
2

B
4
C, Al
2
O
3
, TiC, rice husk ash, Si
3
N
4
and AlN enhances
the hardness of AMCs.
8,11,21,22
Baradeswaran et al.
23
stated an opposite trend, that an
increase in the incorporation of graphite drastically
decreases the hardness of the AMCs owing to the lubri-
cating nature of graphite. Rajmohan et al.
24
showed that
the incorporation of mica decreased the hardness of
AMCs, thus enhancing the machinability of composites.
An increase in hardness is reasonable, owing to the
resistance provided to the indentation by the hard rein-
forced particles. AA6082 with 9 w/% of ZrB
2
composites
exhibited the greatest hardness. The accumulation of
ZrB
2
particles in the AA6082 matrix enhances the
surface area of the reinforcement and also reduces the
matrix grain size. Therefore, the mechanical properties
of the composites were notably increased with the in-
crease in ZrB
2
content.
3.3. Effect of ZrB
2
in the AA6082 matrix on tensile
strength
Figure 5 displays the role of ZrB
2
particle content on
the tensile strength of the AA6082/ZrB
2
composites. The
tensile strength of the AMCs was increased from
138 MPa to 219 MPa because of the increasing weight
fraction of ZrB
2
particles. A remarkable augmentation in
the tensile strength of the composite was found at 9 w/%
ZrB
2
particles in the matrix. A similar kind of enhance-
ment in tensile strength while incorporating particles
such as TIB
2
, AlN, TiC, Si
3
N
4
and WC was reported by
investigators.
5,6,11,17,18,25
However, the inclusion of Gr,
mica, ZrSiO
4
in aluminium alloy decreased the
mechanical behaviour of the composites.
23,24,26
The
reason for the enhancement of tensile strength in the
AA6082/ZrB
2
composite is the incorporation of the hard
nature of ZrB
2
particles in the soft AA6082 matrix.
Moreover, the escalation in tensile strength may be
ascribed to the uniform dissemination of reinforcement
particles in the matrix, resulting in the effectual transfer
of applied tensile load from the matrix to the
reinforcement and thereby increasing the load-bearing
capacity of the composites.
2,6,19
AA6082/9 w/% ZrB
2
AMCs showed a 62.31 % higher tensile strength
compared to the unreinforced AA6082 alloy. This can be
credited to the presence of an improved surface area of
the reinforcement particle that provides massive
resistance to the plastic deformation, which leads to
improving the tensile strength of composites.
3.4. Tensile fracture surface analysis of AA6082/ZrB
2
composites
The Figure 6 shows the tensile fracture morphology
of the AA6082 alloy and the AA6082/ZrB
2
AMCs. The
AA6082 alloy revealed ductile fracture behaviour with
evenly disseminated, larger size voids noticed in the frac-
ture surface, shown in Figure 6a. Figure 6b depicts how
the incorporation of ZrB
2
particles extensively reduces
the voids on the fracture surface. It can be ascribed to the
grain refinement by the ZrB
2
particulates. Figure 6c re-
A. MANIKANDAN et al.: INFLUENCE OF ZrB2 ON THE MICROSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AA6082/ZrB2 ...
330 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 53 (2019) 3, 327–332
Figure 4: Effect of hardness on wl%ofZrB
2
particles
Figure 6: Fracture morphology of AA6082/ZrB
2
AMCs containing
ZrB
2
:a)0w/%, b) 3 w/%, c) 6 w/% and d) 9 w/% Figure 5: Effect of tensile strength on w/% of ZrB
2
particles

veals the smaller size voids compared to that of the base
alloy. Moreover, the ZrB
2
particles are intact at several
places owing to superior bonding with the matrix. Fig-
ure 6d depicts how the flatness of the fractured surface
increases with the enhanced weight fraction of ZrB
2
particle content. There are no voids around the particles,
ensuring strong interfacial bonding between the matrix
and the reinforcement.
2,19
The fracture surface analysis
shows that the fabricated composite experienced a duc-
tile nature of fracture at the microscopic level and brittle
nature of fracture at the macroscopic level.
3.5. Effect of ZrB
2
in AA6082 matrix on compression
strength
The effect of ZrB
2
content on the compression
strength of AA6082/ZrB
2
AMCs is revealed in Figure 7.
The compression strength was noticed to increase with
the increase of ZrB
2
particle content and it is remarkably
higher than the compression strength of the non-rein-
forced matrix alloy. The presence of hard ZrB
2
particles
in the matrix serves as a barrier for the dislocation mo-
vement. This barrier leads to enhance the compression
strength of the AA6082/ZrB
2
composites. The incorpora-
tion of ZrB
2
particles increases the mechanical bonding
between the matrix and reinforcement. Therefore, the
compression strength of AMCs increased to about 29.34
% while adding 9 w/% of ZrB
2
particle to the aluminium
alloy.
4 CONCLUSIONS
In the present experimental study, AA6082-alloy-
based composites were manufactured through the stir
casting method with several weight proportions of ZrB
2
and the characterization was performed with SEM. The
mechanical properties of the AA6082 parent alloy and
AA6082/ZrB
2
developed composite were measured.
Based on the present research study, the following con-
clusions are drawn:
• Microstructural observations revealed that there was
no interface reaction product between the ZrB
2
particles and the matrix during the production of the
composites.
• A homogeneous dissemination of ZrB
2
particles
along the AA6082 aluminium matrix can be noticed
in the SEM micrographs.
• The manufactured composite of 9 w/% of ZrB
2
offers
a maximum hardness of 81 HV.
• The tensile strength of the composites was increased
from 138 MPa to 219 MPa with respect to incorpo-
ration of the weight fraction of ZrB
2
particles. Cor-
respondingly, the hardness of the composites
increases with increasing ZrB
2
weight fraction.
• The tensile fracture surface analysis reveals different
mode of failures, namely, ductile, brittle and ductile.
The tensile fracture morphology of the AA6082/ZrB
2
AMCs shows the unified mode of fracture.
• The AA6082/9 w/% of ZrB
2
composites revealed su-
perior compression strength when compared to the
parent matrix alloy.
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