Metallurgical and mechanical study of T6 heat-treated SiC particle-reinforced A356-aluminium matrix composite

This article aims to study the metallurgical and mechanical changes that occurred due to the T6 heat treatment of SiC particle-reinforced A356 matrix composite. The stir-casting technique was used for the fabrication of the composite. The fabricated composite was T6 heat-treated. Along with Mg₂Si, MgAl₂O₄ a new phase, MgO was identified through energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping. An improvement in the mechanical properties was observed. All the mechanical properties are not equally influenced by T6 heat treatment. The formed phases act as strong obstacles to the slip and dislocation of the matrix which improves the ultimate tensile strength value by 40-42%, and impact strength 3 times higher than that of unheat-treated composite but only 10-12% improvement in hardness. (author)