Mechanical, Tribological, and Corrosion Studies of Al ₂ O ₃ Filled Al6061 MMCs with Strengthening Mechanisms

The current study seeks to determine the physical, mechanical, dry sliding wear, and corrosion aspects of metal matrix composites (MMCs), Al 6061 alloy reinforced with aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ). The Al6061‐ Al ₂ O ₃ composites are developed by a stir casting process assisted with ultrasonication, with Al ₂ O ₃ particles introduced in increments of 0 weight percent (wt%) up to 6.0 wt% in the steps of 2.0. The cast composites are prepared as per the ASTM standards for different physical, mechanical, tribological, and corrosion characterizations. According to the experimental results, adding a higher wt% of Al ₂ O ₃ to the Al6061 alloy significantly improves its hardness and strength at the expense of elongation. The higher concentration of Al ₂ O ₃ substantially impacts the density by 1.3%, hardness by 33%, and tensile strength by 51% while decreasing the elongation by 30%. Various strengthening mechanism theories are applied to forecast the strength of Al6061‐Al ₂ O ₃ MMC composites. Further, dry wear and corrosion measurements are carried out. The results showed that the Al6061‐Al ₂ O ₃ MMCs outperformed the Al6061 alloy in terms of wear resistance and corrosion resistance, which also improved with the addition of reinforcement particles. According to the overall results, the Al6061‐ Al ₂ O ₃ composite with 6 wt% Al ₂ O ₃ has higher mechanical characteristics, dry sliding wear, and corrosion resistance.