Effect of fly ash particles on the mechanical properties of aluminium casting alloy A535

Fly ash is a lightweight coal combustion byproduct (CCB) which is separated from the exhaust gases of power generating plants using suspension fired furnaces in which pulverised coal is used as the fuel. Its physical and chemical properties make it a useful construction and industrial material, especially in cement manufacturing, concrete, liquid waste stabilisation, and hydraulic mine backfill. The addition of fly ash into aluminium alloys has the potential to reduce the cost and density of aluminium castings while improving other physical and mechanical properties of the resulting metal matrix composites (MMCs). In the present study, the effect of fly ash addition on the mechanical properties of aluminium casting alloy 535 (A535) was investigated by means of hardness measurements, tensile testing, Charpy impact testing, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XFS). The unreinforced A535 and its MMCs containing a mixture of 5 wt-% fly ash and 5 wt-% silicon carbide, 10 wt-% fly ash and 15 wt-% fly ash were investigated in the as cast and heat treated conditions. The results show that increasing the fly ash content of the melt increased the porosity of the castings, which ultimately affected the tensile and impact properties of the MMCs. The microhardness, tensile strength and Charpy impact energy of the composites decreased with increasing fly ash content. The loss in mechanical properties and impact resistance of the MMCs is attributed partly to the depletion of solid solution strengthening magnesium atoms from the matrix and partly to porosity.