Abstract
There has been an increasing interest in composites containing low density and low cost reinforcements. Among various reinforced materials used, fly ash is one of the most inexpensive and low-density reinforcement available in large quantities as waste product during combustion of fuel in thermal power plants. Hence, composite with fly ash, as reinforcement, and recycled aluminum, as matrix, are likely to overcome the cost barrier, as well as, the different physical and mechanical properties for widely used in many engineering applications. In this study, recycled aluminum reinforced by fly ash with different percentage (0, 3, 6 and 9wt%) were prepared by two step stir casting method. The composites were tested for physical and mechanical properties. The results observed that fly ash could be successfully added to recycled aluminum to produce cheap, lightweight composite with superior mechanical properties. The optical microscopic images indicate a uniform distribution of fly ash particles in the recycled aluminum matrix. The Brinell hardness number was increased by (128%) for (Al-2%Mg-9%Fly ash) compared with base alloy. Also, it was found that ultimate tensile strength was increased by (21%) for (Al-2%Mg-6%Fly ash) and decreased by (15%) for (Al-2%Mg-9%Fly ash) compared with base alloy. Wear resistance was significantly increased with increasing fly ash percentage even under high loads. So, lightweight-low cost composite with good mechanical properties can be produced by adding suitable amount of fly ash particles as reinforcement in recycled aluminum matrix.