Mechanical properties and microstructural analysis of Al–Si–Mg/carbonized maize stalk waste particulate composites

The mechanical properties and morphological analysis of Al–Si–Mg/carbonized maize stalk particulate composites was investigated. The compositions of the composite include a matrix of Al–Si–Mg and the carbonized maize stalk particulates as reinforcement ranging from 2% to 10% at an interval of 2%. Properties such as mechanical behaviour of the composites were examined and these include tensile strength, tensile modulus, hardness value, impact energy, percentage elongation and percentage reduction in area. Besides, the microstructures of the developed Al–Si– Mg/carbonized maize stalk particulate composites were investigated. The results of the microstructures of the composite show a uniform dispersion of the reinforcement along the grain boundaries of the alloy. The tensile strength and hardness values increase to 85.60 N/mm^2 and 24HRB at 8 and 10 wt% of carbonized maize stalk respectively, but there is a slight decrease in the impact energy values, values of percentage elongation and percentage reduction in area as the reinforcement increases. From these results of investigation, we concluded that the carbonized reinforcing maize particulates can be used to enhance the properties of Al–Si–Mg alloy for engineering applications.