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Procedia Engineering 64 (2013) 1505 – 1513

International Conference On DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING, IConDM 2013

Effect of Mechanical Properties on Rice Husk Ash Reinforced

Aluminum alloy (AlSi10Mg) Matrix Composites.

S.D.Saravanana*, M.Senthil Kumarb

a
Research Scholar,Department of Mechanical Engineering,P.S.G College of Technology,Coimbatore-641004,India.
b
Assistant Professor,Department of Mechanical Engineering,P.S.G College of Technology,Coimbatore-641004,India.

Abstract

The application spectrum of low cost material reinforced metal matrix composites is growing rapidly in
various engineering fields. In this way, present study indicates the possibilities of reinforcing aluminium alloy
(AlSi10Mg) with locally available inexpensive rice husk ash for developing a new material. A rice husk ash
particle of 3, 6, 9 & 12 % by weight were used to develop metal matrix composites using a liquid metallurgy route.
The surface morphology was studied using scanning electron microscope for analyze the distribution of RHA
particles. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength, compressive strength, hardness and percentage
elongations are studied for reinforced RHA composites. The results reveal that the percentage reinforcement of
RHA will increase ultimate tensile strength, compressive strength and harness of the composite.

©
© 2013
2013 The
The Authors.
Authors. Published
Published by
by Elsevier
Elsevier Ltd.
Ltd. Open access under CC BY -NC-ND license.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the organizing and review committee of IConDM 2013.
2013

Keywords- Aluminium Alloy (AlSi10Mg); Rice Husk Ash; Mechanical Properties; Scanning Electron Microscope;

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-98655-26818 ;

E-mail address: sdssaravanan@gmail.com.

1877-7058 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the organizing and review committee of IConDM 2013
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2013.09.232
1506 S.D. Saravanan and M. Senthil Kumar / Procedia Engineering 64 (2013) 1505 – 1513

1. Introduction

Today’s the world has been looking for the maximum optimization as possible in every field. Engineering
is not an exception. Engineers are looking for creating the extreme best from the best. During these developments
some way or the other much affected is the environment. The development of low cost metal matrix composites
reinforced with eco-friendly material has been one of the major innovations in the field of materials in the past few
decades. Aluminum alloys reinforced with ceramic particles exhibit superior mechanical properties to unreinforced
Al alloys and hence are candidate for engineering applications.

Now the most of the research work carried out to develop composites using various recycled wastes
[1,2],especially in developing composites using most environmentally friendly agro-wastes (lignocellulosic
materials) as reinforcing fillers. Among them, Rice Husk Ash (RHA) is an agriculture waste by product abundantly
available. During milling of paddy about 78 % of weight is received as rice, broken rice and bran. Rest 22 % of the
weight of paddy is received as husk . This husk is used as fuel in the rice mills to generate steam for the parboiling
process. This husk contains about 75 % organic volatile matter and the balance 25 % of the weight of this husk is
converted into ash during the firing process, is known as rice husk ash ( RHA ). For every 1000 kgs of paddy
milled , about 220 kgs ( 22 % ) of husk is produced , and when this husk is burnt in the boilers , about 55 kgs ( 25
% ) of RHA is generated. It is estimated that about 70 million tons of RHA is produced annually worldwide [6].

This RHA is a great environment threat causing damage to the land and the surrounding area in which it is
dumped. This ensures the researcher for effective utilization of this agricultural waste. Therefore the environment
is protected from these wastes. The recent research studies reported that RHA in turn contains around 85 % - 90 %
amorphous silica[7]. On thermal treatment, the silica converts to crystobalite, which is a crystalline form of silica.
However, under controlled burning conditions, amorphous silica with high reactivity, ultra-fine size and large
surface area is produced. This micro silica can be a source for preparing advanced materials like SiC, Si3N4,
elemental Si and Mg2Si [8].

The present research is focused to utilize the rice husk ash [8-13] by dispersing it into the aluminium to
produce matrix composites through stir cast route on the lines of [14]. The various weight fractions of rice husk
particles are considered in the study. Experiments have been conducted to assess the mechanical behavior of the
rice husk ash ceramic composites. Further microscopic studies were conducted to establish the wear mechanisms
and transition from one mechanism to another using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).

2. Material and Experimental Procedure

2.1. Matrix material

For experimental investigation, AlSi10Mg aluminium alloy was used as a matrix material whose chemical
composition (in wt %) is listed in Table 1. AlSi10Mg is a typical casting alloy with good casting properties and is
used for cast parts with thin walls and complex geometry. The alloying elements silicon and magnesium leads to
high strength and hardness. The components made with AlSi10Mg alloy are ideal for applications which require a
combination of good thermal properties and low weight. It is easily castable and main advantage of this material is
preheating is not required before casting or testing.
 S.D. Saravanan and M. Senthil Kumar / Procedia Engineering 64 (2013) 1505 – 1513 1507

Table 1. Chemical composition of the matrix alloy

Chemical
Cu Mg Si Fe Mn Ni Zn Pb Sn Ti Al
Composition

0.1 0.2- 10.0- 0.6 0.3- 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.05 0.2
% Balance
Max 0.6 13.0 max 0.7 max max max max max

2.2. Reinforcement material

Rice husk is procured from local sources in India (Tamilnadu-Coimbatore), then it was washed with water
to remove the dust and dried at room temperature for 1 day. Washed rice husk is then heated to 200°C for 1 hr
duration to remove the moisture and organic matter. During this operation, the colour of the husk is changed from
yellowish to black because of charring of organic matter. It is then heated to 600°C for 12 h to remove the
carbonaceous material. After this operation, once again the colour is changed from black to grayish white (Figure
1). The obtained silica-rich ash (RHA) is used as a reinforcement material for the preparation of composites. The
chemical composition of the rice husk ash after the above treatments is given in Table 2.

Figure- 1: (a) Raw Rice Husk (b) Carbonize Rice Husk Ash (c) Grounded Carbonized Rice Husk Ash and
(d) Combusted Rice Husk Ash (Grayish White)

Table 2. Rice husk ash composition.

Constituent SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO Na2O K2O LOI

% 94.04 0.249 0.136 0.622 0.442 0.023 2.49 3.52

1508 S.D. Saravanan and M. Senthil Kumar / Procedia Engineering 64 (2013) 1505 – 1513

3. Experimental Procedure

3.1. Specimen Preparation

The synthesis of the metal matrix composite used in the present study is carried out by using the liquid
metallurgy route. Initially, Al alloy is charged into the graphite crucible and heated to 800 ºC till the entire alloy in
the crucible is melted (Figure 2). The reinforcement particles (RHA) are then preheated to 600°C for three hour
before incorporating into the melt. After the molten metal is fully melted, degassing tablets is added to reduce the
porosity. Simultaneously, 1wt% of magnesium is added into the molten melt to enhance the wettability between
the rice husk particles and alloy melt. It is noticed that without the addition of magnesium, the particles of rice
husk ash are rejected.

A stainless steel stirrer is lowered into the molten melt slowly upto 2/3 of the height of the molten metal
from the bottom of the crucible and the molten metal is stirred at a speed of 500 to 700 rpm. The preheated RHA
particles are added into the molten metal at a constant rate of 1-2 gm per stroke. To enhance proper mixing, stirrer
speed is gradually increased from 500 to 700 rpm for 10 min duration. The stirring is continued for another 5 min
even after the completion of particle feeding. The mixture is poured into the mould which is also preheated to 500
ºC for 30 min to obtain the uniform solidification. Similar procedure is repeated for the other weight volume
fraction of 6%, 9% and 12 % RHA particle reinforcements.

Fig. 2 Stir casting equipment (a) Electrical furnace (b) Preheated permanent mould

3.2. Testing for Mechanical Property

The tensile tests were conducted on these samples according to ASTM E08 at room temperature, using a
universal testing machine (INSTRON). The specimens used were of diameter 12 mm and Gauge length 40 mm,
machined from the cast composites with the gauge length of the specimen parallel to the longitudinal axis of the
castings. The compression tests were conducted as per ASTM-E9-95.The specimen dimensions are of diameter
15mm and length 20 mm. The hardness was measured using Brinell Hardness Tester at a load of 500 kg for a
period of 15 sec in accordance with the ASTM E10.
 S.D. Saravanan and M. Senthil Kumar / Procedia Engineering 64 (2013) 1505 – 1513 1509

4. Results and Discussions

4.1. SEM study

The micrographs shown in Figure 3 depict the microstructure of as cast Al and RHA reinforced
Aluminium alloy. A uniform distribution of rice husk ash particles without voids and discontinuities can be
observed from these micrographs along with good bonding between matrix material and rice husk ash particles;
however no gap is observed between the particle and matrix.

(a) AlSi10Mg (b)AlSi10Mg + 6 % RHA (50-75) μm

(c)AlSi10Mg + 9 % RHA (50-75) μm (d)AlSi10Mg + 12 % RHA (50-75) μm

Fig. 3 SEM image of the cast Al–RHA MMC’s

1510 S.D. Saravanan and M. Senthil Kumar / Procedia Engineering 64 (2013) 1505 – 1513

4.2. Evaluation of mechanical properties

(a) Tensile property

The relation between tensile strength of the fabricated composites with the different weight
fractions of rice husk ash particles are shown in figure 4. It can be inferred that the tensile strength
increased with an increase in the weight percentage of rice husk ash. Because, the RHA particles act as
barriers to the dislocations when taking up the load applied. The similar observation was found in
Basavarajappa et al., for fly ash particles. The observed improvement in tensile strength of the composite
is attributed to the fact that the filler rice husk ash possesses higher strength by offering more resistance.
There was a decrease in the tensile strength of the samples with rice husk ash weight fraction beyond 12
%. It may due to the poor wettability of the reinforcement with the matrix.

Fig.4. Variation of tensile strength with the weight fraction of Rice Husk Ash

(b) Compressive Strength

The variations of compressive strength with addition of Rich husk ash was shown in figure 5.
Due incorporation, it was observed that the compressive strength increases with an increase in the weight
percentage of rice husk ash particles. This may be due to the hardening of the base alloy by rice husk ash
particles.

Fig. 5. Variation of compressive strength with the weight fraction of rich husk ash.
 S.D. Saravanan and M. Senthil Kumar / Procedia Engineering 64 (2013) 1505 – 1513 1511

(c)Hardness
The relation between weight percentage of RHA reinforcement and hardness of fabricated
MMCs was shown in figure 6. It was observed that the hardness of the composite linearly increasing with
the increase in weight fraction of the rice husk ash particles. This occurs due to increases in surface area
of the matrix and thus the grain sizes are reduced. The presence of such hard surface area offers more
resistance to plastic deformation which leads to increase hardness. Similar findings were by Radhakrishna
et.al, 2007 for SiC particle reinforcements.

Fig. 6. Variation of Hardness with the weight fraction of rich husk ash.

(d) Ductility:
The effect of percentage reinforcement of RHA on percentage elongation of composite was
presented in figure 7. It was observed that ductility of the composite decreases with the increase in weight
fraction of the rice husk ash. This is due to the increase in hardness of the rice husk ash particles or
clustering of the particles. Similar observations were by found Sudarshan et.al & Surappa et.al, for various
weight percent of fly ash reinforcement.

Fig. 7. Variation of Ductility with the weight fraction of rich husk ash.
1512 S.D. Saravanan and M. Senthil Kumar / Procedia Engineering 64 (2013) 1505 – 1513

5. Conclusions

The conclusions drawn from the present investigation are as follows:

x Rice Husk Ash, the agricultural waste generated from milling paddy can be successfully used as a
reinforcing material to produce Aluminium Metal-Matrix Composite. It can be successfully used in place
of conventional aluminium intensive material.
x The use RHA ash for the production of composites can turn agricultural waste into industrial wealth. This
can also solve the problem of storage and disposal of RHA.
x There was good dispersibility of RHA particles in aluminium matrix which improves the hardness of the
matrix material and also the tensile behavior of the composite. The effect is increase in interfacial area
between the matrix material and the RHA particles leading to increase in strength appreciably.
x The Tensile Strength, Compression Strength and Hardness increases with the increase in the weight
fraction and ductility gets decrease with increase in the weight fraction of reinforced rice husk ash.
x It was concluded that the enhancement in the mechanical properties can be well attributed to the high
dislocation density. However, for composites with more than 12% weight fraction of rice husk ash
particles, the tensile strength was seen to be decreasing.

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