In this paper, aluminium metal matrix composites were synthesized through in situ process in which aluminium alloy 5052 (AA5052) and titanium carbide were used as matrix and reinforcement materials, respectively. The microstructural characterization and formation of stable TiC phases were analyzed with the help of field emission scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction analysis, respectively. The 9% TiC-reinforced MMCs had shown a considerable improvement, i.e. 32% increase in hardness, 78% in ultimate tensile strength and 116% increase in yield strength when compared with the base alloy. The tensile fracture of the specimens shows dimples, voids, cracks, and ridges indicating the brittle nature. Further, the dry sliding wear properties of the composites were studied with the help of a pin-on-disc wear testing machine. The composite with 9% TiC exhibited a decrease in volumetric wear loss by 24% when compared with the base alloy at a load of 30 N. With increase in the TiC content and applied load, the COF values decreased linearly for the composites. The 9% TiC-reinforced composites show an abrasive mode of wear mechanism as a result of formation of deep grooves with no plastic deformation. With the improvement obtained in the wear properties, this metal matrix composite can be considered as a replacement for the conventional brake disc material used in the automobile industry.

This study focuses on a comparative analysis of mechanical behavior and microstructural characteristics of Cu matrix (C87600) based hybrid composites reinforced with SiC-Gr_p and WC-Gr_p fabricated by the stir casting process. The graphite particle percentage was kept constant, whereas the content of SiC and WC in the respective composites was varied to analyze the mechanical properties of the fabricated composites. The morphological observation was carried out by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), which revealed uniform dispersion of the reinforced particles in the hybrid composites. Clear phases of SiC and WC along with the Cu alloy were identified by the x-ray diffractometer (XRD). Further, a comparative study was conducted to analyze the mechanical behavior of the Cu-SiC-Gr and Cu-WC-Gr hybrid composites. With the addition of the hard ceramic materials, the tensile behavior and microhardness of both the Cu-based MMCs were improved. The WC-Gr reinforced composites exhibited higher mechanical properties than the SiC-Gr reinforced hybrid composites. Further, the fracture surfaces were also characterized to study the tensile behavior of the fabricated copper-based hybrid composites, which shows that ductile fracture was mainly associated with both hybrid composites.