Process parameters, development and applications of stir cast composite: A review

In the current environment, aluminum metal matrix composites are in enormous demand due to notable improvement in mechanical and wear characteristics. Several manufacturing techniques have been developed among which traditional stir casting is preferred due to simple processing techniques other than available methods like compocasting, in situ fabrication, powder metallurgy or friction stir processing. Nanoparticles seem appealing to researchers for manufacturing nanocomposites due to their improved microstructural, mechanical and tribological properties. Parameters like weight or volume fraction, stirrer design, number of blades, stirring speed, stirring time, reinforcement feed rate and melting temperature required to prepare a composite are discussed in great detail. The innovation of this assessment effort lie in the fact that few such review works have been published for the stircasting technique to prepare aluminum metal matrix composites/nano composites reinforced with SiC, TiO2, Al2O3, B4C and TiC.