Synthesis of Metal Matrix Composites through Stir Casting Process – a Review

Abstract Metal is the one of the important material in engineering materials because of their high strength to weight ratio. However the pure metals cannot be used as engineering materials due to their ductile property. So, to improve their mechanical properties, some of the high strength materials (not metals) were added as reinforcement to improve the mechanical properties of pure metals and the newly developed material is called as metal matrix composites. At present, Aluminium, Copper, Magnesium, Titanium and Iron have been used as matrix materials and materials like TiC, SiC, B 4 C, WC, Cr 3 C, TiO 2 , ZrO 2 , Gr, MoS 2 and Si 3 N 4 have been used as reinforcements. There are many processing techniques to fabricate metal matrix composites namely stir casting, ultra-sonic assisted casting, compo-casting, rheo casting, powder metallurgy technique, etc,. Among these, stir casting process is the most suitable and economical method to fabricate the metal matrix composites. In this article, an effort has been made to review the work of various researchers to fabricate metal matrix composites through stir casting process.