Production and Characterization of Aluminium Matrix Composite Containing Silicon Carbide, Fly and Orange Peel Ash

Metal matrix composites are sophisticated materials having reinforcement components to create materials with specific qualities such as stiffness, impact resistance that can be used in high-temperature situations.This research produced and characterized Aluminium matrix composite from Silicon Carbide, Fly and Orange peel ash (OPA).Casting was done from scrapped aluminium pot, Silicon carbide, Fly ash and prepared OPA. A cylindrical pattern was made using sand to create cavity for the casting. The melt composite was stirred for 3 mins. The sample was reheated for 15 mins before stirring it for another 2 mins. The melted composite was poured into already prepared mould and air cooled. Samples were prepared for tensile, compressive, hardness, and wear examinations to identify the mechanical properties of the composite produced. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) investigation was also performed on all samples to identify their microstructures. Aluminium matrix composite of 80% Al, 10% SiC and 10% Orange Ash produced the best result of 123 MPa, 23,056 N/m2,, 42 BHv, 2.018 m3/m tensile, compressive, hardness,wear rate, respectively. The SEM images revealed Aluminium background with particles of SiC and ash as intermetallic compounds. Keywords: Aluminium Matric Composite, Production, Characterization,SiC, Ash