Investigate the tensile strength and wear characteristics of industrial waste cenosphere reinforced with Al7075 alloy using the taguchi method

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) find wide application owing to their superior physical and mechanical properties compared with monolithic metals. Aluminium and cenosphere are combined to produce a lightweight, strong component. The liquid metallurgical technique was used to produce five compositions of Al7075 grade aluminium-cenosphere composites. The study investigates the tribological and mechanical properties of an aluminium matrix composite reinforced with cenosphere. The SEM microphotographs show that the matrix material has filled the shattered spherical portion, thereby improving the composite’s interfacial strength. The main aim of this study is to determine how cenosphere concentration affects the mechanical, microstructural, and wear characteristics of an aluminium matrix composite reinforced with cenosphere. Tensile and sliding wear test specimens are typically prepared in accordance with ASTM E8 and ASTM G99, respectively. The experiments demonstrated that adding cenosphere to grade 7075 aluminium alloy improved the composite’s density, hardness, tensile strength, and wear resistance. The experimental results showed that the specimen diameter contributed 53.11%, the heat treatment duration contributed 26.17%, the type of specimen contributed 5.31%, and the percentage of cenosphere contributed 4.29%. In a similar vein, during the wear test, the specimen diameter contributed 69.94%, the heat treatment duration contributed 16.54%, the type of specimen contributed 5.31%, and the percentage of cenosphere contributed 4.29%. After a thorough investigation, A2B2C2D2 and A1B3C3D2, respectively, have been shown to be the most promising combinations for the tensile test and the wear test.