Ductility and hardness of chloride cleaned AA6011/SiCp composites

The ductility and hardness of AA6011/SiCp composites using NaCl, SnCl2, NH4Cl and PdCl2 as wetting reagents were investigated. SiCp was cleaned with the wetting reagents, and used as reinforcement in AA6011 alloy using the stir casting method. Ductility and hardness responses of the composites were measured using standard methods. Microstructural features were examined using scanning electron microscopy and the phases were determined with the help of an X-ray diffractometer. The results show that for all wetting agents, the increase in cleaning time leads to initial increase in ductility to a certain value, but a decrease afterwards with further increase in cleaning time. The best combination of hardness (BHN 57.88) and ductility (11.91%) was shown under conditions of 40 g/L SnCl2 and cleaning time of 60 min. A minor formation of Al4C3 was noted in diffraction patterns, indicating that the formation of deleterious precipitate was hindered by the cleaning process.