Experimental Investigation of the Influence of Weight Percentage, Particle Size, and Heat Treatment on the Properties of SiC Particle Reinforced: A356 Aluminum Matrix Composite

The purpose of this investigation is to find the effect of (1) weight percentage, (2) particle size, (3) condition (heat treatment) on the properties of SiC particle-reinforced A356 matrix composites. For this, three different weight percentages of SiC particles (3%, 6%, and 9%), three different particle sizes (3.8 μm, 8.8 μm, and 13.8 μm), and three different conditions (1) pre-heat SiC particles at 200 °C for 30 min, (2) heat treat the SiC particle at 900 °C for 5 h, (3) T6 heat treatment of composites, were considered. Nine different composites were fabricated as per the L9 orthogonal array. The stir-casting method was used to fabricate the composites. Mechanical properties were found from various mechanical tests. Particle distribution and microstructure were observed by using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope. Density and porosity were found using the Archimedes test apparatus. An investigation of the influence of weight percentage, particle size, and heat treatment was carried out by Minitab software.