Influence of rare earth addition on the properties of AA6351 hybrid composites

Nowadays, the effect of the rare earth addition on the performance of aluminium matrix composites is a major interest for many researchers. The present research work emphasis is on the study of the effect of praseodymium oxide (rare earth element) addition on the performance of AA6351 hybrid composites. Silicon carbide and rice husk ash in the weight proportions of 6:2 were ball-milled with various weight percentages (0.4%, 0.8%, and 1.2%) of praseodymium oxide to have a consistent microstructure and combined density equivalent to the AA6351 matrix alloy. Further, AA6351 hybrid composites with the ball-milled reinforcement of silicon carbide, rice husk ash, and praseodymium oxide were produced using stir-casting technique. Physical, microstructural, mechanical, and tribological characterization were done to study the impact of praseodymium oxide addition on the developed hybrid composites. An increment of 2.61% in the density, 49.40% in the microhardness, and 19.78% in the ultimate tensile strength was recorded with the incorporation of 1.2 weight percentage of praseodymium oxide in the AA6351 hybrid composites. The wear rate of the developed composites also improved by 32.92% with the addition of praseodymium oxide. The results exhibited a remarkable improvement in the performance of the AA6351 hybrid composites with the addition of rare earth element.