Parmeshwar Pandurang Ritapure

The study evaluates the mechanical and wear properties of LM26 alloy and its hybrid composites with silicon carbide (SiC) and nickel-coated graphite (Ni-Gr). LM26 aluminum alloy is generally known for its high strength, wear, and corrosion resistance compared to similar materials such as zinc and magnesium. The effect of Ni-Gr was studied, with 2 wt.% was found to provide the best mechanical properties. LM26 composites reinforced with varying percentages of SiC (0 to 30 wt.%) showed the best properties at 20 wt.% reinforcement after fabrication using a bottom pouring type stir casting setup (Two step feeding method). Evaluation of five hybrid LM26 composites through tensile strength, elongation, hardness, impact, porosity, and thermal studies showed that the LM26/2 wt.% Ni-Gr/20 wt.% SiC configuration showed the best filler composition for improved strength. Sliding wear evaluation using experimental and Taguchi analysis was performed at different configurations to identify the best wear resistance. Microstructure studies showed the presence of Ni-Gr particles forming coatings and temperature playing a significant role in the progression of the wear rate. Furthermore, the hybrid composite with 20% SiC and 2% Ni-Gr reinforcement showed the best wear resistance.

The energy storage capacity of latent heat thermal energy storage systems is high therefore these systems are efficient among all other thermal heat storage. This study experimentally investigates the charging and solidification of stearic acid (C₁₈H₃₆O₂) in the finned triplex pipe heat exchanger with holes on the fin surface. The melting and discharging of stearic acid are carried out at steady inlet heat transfer fluid (HTF) i.e., water temperature. This study also investigates the result of the change in HTF flow rate on solidification and melting of phase change material. Finally, the study focuses on the comparison of average effectiveness for finned triplex tube heat exchanger and finned triplex tube with cylindrical holes on fin surface with rates of 0.33 and 0.43 Kg/s. The results showed that the average effectiveness with a finned triplex tube with a perforated fin surface is 4% more than that of a finned triplex tube at 0.33 Kg/s whereas it is 5 % more at 0.43 Kg/s during the charging process. On the other side during discharging process average effectiveness is 14 % more at 0.33 Kg/s and 11 % at 0.43 Kg/s.

This paper proposes a unique Al25Zn/SiC/Graphite hybrid composite for plain bearing and other wear-resistant applications. Newly synthesized composites of Al–25Zn alloy reinforced with 3 wt-% graphite and 10, 15 and 20 wt-% SiC are tested using a pin on the disc tribometer following ASTM G-99 standard against EN24 disc. Sliding wear studies using the Taguchi L ₁₆ array are carried out for a set of parameters including pin temperature, speed, load and a constant sliding distance. The results reveal that adding 3 wt-% graphite into Al25Zn/SiC composites greatly enhances wear resistance, tensile strength, impact strength and ductility at the expense of hardness. The wear behaviour of the composites is predicted using an artificial neural network and a regression model. Adhesion is found the most common wear mechanism in matrix alloys, while abrasion and delamination in composites. Among the examined materials, the composite with 3 wt-% graphite and 15 wt-% SiC has the optimum combination of characteristics.

This investigation studied the influence of SiC reinforcement (0, 10, 15 and 20 wt.%) on solid particle erosion and mechanical behaviour of novel Al–25Zn alloy metal matrix composites fabricated by the stir casting technique. The erosion wear experiments were conducted following the ASTM G-76 standard for various impact velocity, impingement angle, and erodent temperature as per Taguchi L₁₆ orthogonal array using air jet erosion test rig with erodent silica sand particles of irregular shapes with size approximately 150 µm. The attempt has been made to establish linear and nonlinear correlations between input parameters and erosion rates. The artificial neural network and the Taguchi approach were used to identify the optimal parameter combination for the minimum erosion rate. The results show a significant alteration in properties with reinforcement of SiC content. The analysis of variance, signal to noise ratio, and morphology of eroded surfaces indicates that impact velocity is the most dominating parameter for the erosion rate among studied parameters. The erosion rate increased with the rise in impact velocity, whereas the highest erosion rate is observed with 30° impingement angle. For identical test conditions, optimum mechanical and erosion characteristics are noticed for the composite with 15% SiC.

This investigation studied the effect of Al ₂ O ₃ reinforcement on sliding wear (dry) characteristics of Al–25Zn/Al ₂ O ₃ composites at various temperatures, speeds, and loads applied for 1400 m sliding distances as per the Taguchi L16 orthogonal array using a tribometer with an Emergency Number24 shaft steel disk. Al–25Zn alloy-based composites reinforced with 10, 15, and 20 wt% of Al ₂ O ₃ particles were fabricated by the stir casting technique. The results show a significant alteration in mechanical and tribological properties with reinforcement of Al ₂ O ₃ content. The optimum mechanical and sliding wear properties are seen for the composite with 10 wt% of Al ₂ O ₃ . The material removal in the matrix alloy is due to adhesion and in composites mainly due to abrasion and delamination. The developed regression model and the artificial neural network model can forecast the composite's wear behavior with good precision.