Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering 

About: Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering is an academic journal published by Scientific Research Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Ultimate tensile strength & Corrosion. It has an ISSN identifier of 2327-4085. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 867 publications have been published receiving 12246 citations. The journal is also known as: JMMCE.

Development of Aluminium Based Silicon Carbide Particulate Metal Matrix Composite

Abstract: Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) have evoked a keen interest in recent times for potential applications in aerospace and automotive industries owing to their superior strength to weight ratio and high temperature resistance. The widespread adoption of particulate metal matrix composites for engineering applications has been hindered by the high cost of producing components. Although several technical challenges exist with casting technology yet it can be used to overcome this problem. Achieving a uniform distribution of reinforcement within the matrix is one such challenge, which affects directly on the properties and quality of composite material. In the present study a modest attempt has been made to develop aluminium based silicon carbide particulate MMCs with an objective to develop a conventional low cost method of producing MMCs and to obtain homogenous dispersion of ceramic material. To achieve these objectives two step-mixing method of stir casting technique has been adopted and subsequent property analysis has been made. Aluminium (98.41% C.P) and SiC (320-grit) has been chosen as matrix and reinforcement material respectively. Experiments have been conducted by varying weight fraction of SiC (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30%), while keeping all other parameters constant. The results indicated that the ‘developed method’ is quite successful to obtain uniform dispersion of reinforcement in the matrix. An increasing trend of hardness and impact strength with increase in weight percentage of SiC has been observed. The best results (maximum hardness 45.5 BHN & maximum impact strength of 36 N-m.) have been obtained at 25% weight fraction of SiC. The results were further justified by comparing with other investigators.

Automated Scanning Electron Microscope Based Mineral Liberation Analysis An Introduction to JKMRC/FEI Mineral Liberation Analyser

Abstract: This paper presents the methods and techniques used in the recently developed JKMRC/FEI Mineral Liberation Analyser (MLA). The MLA system consists of a specially developed software package and a standard modern SEM fitted with an energy dispersive spectrum (EDS) analyser. The on-line program of the MLA software package controls the SEM, captures sample images, performs necessary image analysis and acquires EDS x-ray spectra unattended. Typically, 40 to 100 images (containing 4000 to 10,000 particles) are acquired for each sample block and a dozen blocks (of 30 mm in diameter) are measured overnight. The MLA off-line processing program transforms raw particle image with x-ray data into particle mineral maps and calculates bulk and liberation data from particle mineral maps.

Mechanical and Tribological Behavior of Particulate Reinforced Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites – a review

Abstract: Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) sought over other conventional materials in the field of aerospace, automotive and marine applications owing to their excellent improved properties. These materials are of much interest to the researchers from few decades. These composites initially replaced Cast Iron and Bronze alloys but owing to their poor wear and seizure resistance, they were subjected to many experiments and the wear behavior of these composites were explored to a maximum extent and were reported by number of research scholars for the past 25 years. In this paper an attempt has been made to consolidate some of the aspects of mechanical and wear behavior of Al-MMCs and the prediction of the Mechanical and Tribological properties of Aluminum MMCs.

Carbon Nanotube Based Composites- A Review

Abstract: Carbon nanofibers and nanotubes are promising to revolutionise several fields in material science and are a major component of nanotechnology. Further market development will depend on material availability at reasonable prices. Nanotubes have a wide range of unexplored potential applications in various technological areas such as aerospace, energy, automobile, medicine, or chemical industry, in which they can be used as gas adsorbents, templates, actuators, composite reinforcements, catalyst supports, probes, chemical sensors, nanopipes, nano-reactors etc. In this paper, recent research on carbon nanotube composites are reviewed. The interfacial bonding properties, mechanical performance, electrical percolation of nanotube/polymer and ceramic are also reviewed.

Studies on Al6061-SiC and Al7075-Al2O3 Metal Matrix Composites

Abstract: The aluminum based composites are increasingly being used in the transport, aerospace, marine, automobile and mineral processing industries, owing to their improved strength, stiffness and wear resistance properties. The widely used reinforcing materials for these composites are silicon carbide, aluminum oxide and graphite in the form of particles or whiskers. The ceramic particles reinforced aluminum composites are termed as new generation material and these can be tailored and engineered with specific required properties for specific application requirements. Particle reinforced composites have a better plastic forming capability than that of the whisker or fiber reinforced ones, and thus they have emerged as most sought after material with cost advantage and they are also known for excellent heat and wear resistance applications. In this paper it is aimed to present the experimental results of the studies conducted regarding hardness, tensile strength and wear resistance properties of Al6061-SiC and Al7075-Al2O3 composites. The composites are prepared using the liquid metallurgy technique, in which 2-6 wt. %’age of particulates were dispersed in the base matrix in steps of 2. The obtained cast composites of Al6061-SiC and Al7075-Al2O3 and the castings of the base alloys were carefully machined to prepare the test specimens for density, hardness, mechanical, tribological tests and as well as for microstructural studies as per ASTM standards. The SiC and Al2O3 resulted in improving the hardness and density of their respective composites. Further, the increased %’age of these reinforcements contributed in increased hardness and density of the composites. The microphotographs of the composites studied revealed the uniform distribution of the particles in the matrix system. The experimental density values were agreed with that of the theoretical density values of the composites obtained using the rule of mixture for composites. The dispersed SiC in Al6061 alloy and Al2O3 in Al7075 alloy contributed in enhancing the tensile strength of the composites. The wear factor K obtained using computerized pin on disc wear tester with counter surface as EN31 steel disc (HRC60) and the composite pin as specimens, demonstrated the superior wear resistance property of the composites.