ABSTRACT

This study investigates the machinability of a novel composite material comprising aluminum matrix reinforced with rice husk ash (RHA) particulates. The growing demand for sustainable materials and the abundance of rice husk ash, an agricultural waste product, have inspired the development of this composite, aiming to enhance the mechanical properties and promote its use in various engineering applications. The machinability of this composite is a critical aspect, as it determines its feasibility for practical applications. This study was carried out to produce and analyse the properties of Aluminium Alloy-Rice Husk Ash composites. Rice husk ash (RHA) with high silica content of up to 97.095% was used for the study with the RHA varied from 0vol% – 30vol% at intervals of 5vol% in the aluminium alloy as reinforcement. The density and some mechanical properties of the composites including tensile strength, impact strength, hardness and fatigue strength were investigated. The results showed that the density of the composite decreases with the percentage increase of reinforcement from 2840.242 kgm-3 for the control sample to 2402.899 kgm-3 for 30vol% RHA. The Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) varies from 164.374 MNm-2 at 0% RHA to 176.837 MNm-2 with maximum value at 10% RHA, impact strength values varies from 84.020kJm-2 at 0% RHA to 155.244 kJm-2 with maximum value at 10% RHA, hardness value varies from 70.467 RHV at 0% RHA to 109.367 RHV with maximum value at 25% RHA and fatigue strength varies from 0.224x10⁶cycles to 2.582x10⁶ cycles with maximum cycle at 20% RHA. The results of analysis of variance showed that there are significant differences among the means of each property of the composites at different levels of replacement of the ash addition (P<0.05).