An investigation of abrasive and erosion behaviour of AA 2618 reinforced with Si3N4, AlN and ZrB2 in situ composites by using optimization techniques

Abstract AA 2618 alloy matrix material is mixed with silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ), aluminium nitride (AlN), and zirconium boride (ZrB 2 ) reinforcement particles. AA 2618 composites were prepared by stir casting method by the following various amounts of weight percentage (wt%): about 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8. AA 2618 composites were analyzed by various mechanical properties such as micro-hardness, tensile strength, and compressive strength. The mechanical properties were increased by increasing wt% of reinforcements. The microstructure and worn surfaces’ analysis have been done for the dispersion and bonding structure of the reinforced particles in composites; also, the AA 2618 composites were involved with different characterizations such as abrasive and erosion wear tests at various wt% to find the wear resistance of the composites. The mass loss was considered as the result of wear testing. Before and after worn surface has been analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), the abrasive and erosion wear test results were analyzed by using traditional and nontraditional techniques like Taguchi method, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and genetic algorithm (GA) to obtain the better wear resistance of various wt% of AA 2618 composites and to study the most influencing input and output process parameters by using different optimization techniques.