Global realities such as climate change, environmental sustainability, and material innovation have made the production of eco-friendly materials virtually unavoidable. Fuel consumption in automobiles can be reduced by increasing the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine, but considerable improvements can also be gained by reducing the vehicle's weight (Khademian and Peimaei, 2020; Patel et al., 2018; Edward, 2004). Steels and cast iron are used in the automobile (Musfirah and Jaharah, 2012); however, when looking for alternative materials, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and polymer composites are the materials ideal for use in auto applications (Han et al., 2022; Haber, 2015; Joost et al., 2017). When compared to other materials, aluminum and its alloys are seen as the best option due to their high strength, high ductility, high conductivity, and low cost (Akinwande et al., 2023a; Akinwande et al., 2023b; Adediran et al., 2023; Dursun et al., 2014).
In this context, the proportion of aluminum alloys in all materials used to create an automobile component is steadily increasing, which has the positive impact of reducing the total mass of vehicles with the view to minimizing fuel consumption (Adediran et al., 2021; Sharma et al., 2020; Zheng et al., 2018; Orlowicz et al., 2015). Recent research events have involved the development of aluminum composites and hybrid aluminum composites to improve the mechanical, tribological, and corrosion performance of monolithic aluminum and its alloys. In view of this, the performance is enhanced for automobile applications. Among a large group of aluminum alloys, aluminum-silicon alloy has gained high patronage for automobile designs due to its high casting potency, strength-to-weight ratio, low thermal expansion, and wear resistance. It has found applications in engine components of land automobiles, including pistons (Miller et al., 2000; Alshmri 2013; Akinwamide et al. 2020). Owing to the working conditions of automobile engines, efforts have been made to further improve the performance of aluminum-silicon alloys by particulate reinforcement of the matrix. Ceramic particles are often used in the reinforcement of aluminum alloys, consequently improving strength performance, as realized in studies by Balogun et al. (2022); Kumar et al. (2023a, b); and Ogunsanya et al. (2022, 2023).
In these studies, improvements were shown in the aluminum matrix employed due to the inherently brittle nature of ceramic reinforcement. However, the infusion of the reinforcement into the metal matrix has eventually led to a reduction in strength at a certain weight proportion (Olaniran et al., 2022a; Ogunbiyi et al., 2023). Moreso, ceramic-reinforced aluminum composites are often limited in hot-cold-cryo rolling and extrusion processes on account of the brittle nature of the particles (Olorunyolemi et al., 2022). The reports of Akinwande et al. (2023c) had shown the importance of engaging metal-based particles as a supplementary additive to ceramic reinforcement in an aluminum matrix. In light of this, this study was geared to engage boron carbide (B4C) as ceramic particle reinforcement in Al-Si alloy.
Several researchers have worked on the development of AMCs utilizing boron carbide (B4C) as particle fillers because of their low density, cheap cost, and outstanding composability with aluminum base materials (Xu et al., 2019). In 2019, Xu et al. investigated the effect of B4C particle size on the mechanical properties of an aluminum matrix-layered composite. A simplified semi-continuous casting and hot-rolling technique was used in fabricating the composites. The average particle sizes of B4C employed were 6.5, 23, 36.5, and 70 microns. The composites were designated with A(1–4), B(1–4), and C1 in their respective mass fractions, which were also sectioned into three types of mixtures: Type I with wt% of 6.5, 23, 36.5, 70, 70; Type II with wt% of 70, 23, 70, 23, 70; and Type III with wt% of 36.5, 70, 23, 6.5. The results revealed that increasing the B4C particle size and fine B4C mass fraction lowers composite hardness while increasing impact strength and ultimate tensile strength. It was found that the difference in characteristics was caused by residual stress at the contact. An investigation was also carried out in 2019 by Sharma et al. (2019) on boron carbide-reinforced aluminum matrix composites. The paper gave a review of the influence of B4C reinforcement on several parameters of mono and hybrid AMCs, with summarized data obtained and concluded by different scientists. It was concluded that the B4C-Al interfacial interactions were shown to form various precipitates in AMCs, reducing the composite's age-hardening capacity. When compared to the aluminum matrix, B4C-reinforced friction stir-treated surface composites have a more refined structure and superior characteristics. Up to a certain point, increasing the percentage and decreasing the size of B4C enhanced the strength, hardness, and wear resistance of AMCs. The wear rate rises as applied weight, sliding duration, and speed increase. Furthermore, Das et al. (2014) established that AMCs with ceramic reinforcement like boron carbide have a significant amount of porosity in the composite material, which reduces its mechanical properties. The limitation has been hinged on the low wettability between the matrix and reinforcement, suggesting the use of metal-based additives as supplements to reinforcement.
The major characteristics that make ferrotitanium an appealing material include an outstanding strength-weight ratio, which has led to ferrotitanium being widely used in the aerospace and petrochemical sectors. Yimal et al. (2022) conducted a metallographic analysis and studied the wear behavior of Cu-based FeTi-reinforced composites. Cu-based FeTi-reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) were manufactured by powder metallurgy with FeTi reinforcement additions of 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 wt.%. The interface microstructure between FeTi and Cu at 1000°C was found to be significantly different, and the hardness altered correspondingly with the increase of FeTi particles. A study on the microstructural and mechanical properties of stir-cast aluminum composite was carried out by Akinwamide et al. (2020), in which SiC and FeTi were infused into the matrix at varying dosages of 2, and 5 wt.% saw improvement in the mechanical properties. In the same vein, Akinwamide et al. (2019a, b) showed the role of ferrotitanium and silicon carbide on the properties in enhancing the properties of aluminium matrix.
Limitations attached to AMCs are sometimes attributed to the choice of preparation method. Popular methods of producing composites include powder metallurgy and stir casting. However, powder metallurgy has been proven to yield better results when compared to the other process based on dimension accuracy, better surface finish, higher strength performance, and better durability (Parikh et al., 2023; Sankhla et al., 2022; Khan et al., 2020). Ferrotitanium has been established to have optimized mechanical properties for various engineering applications. However, studies involving the combination of FeTi with aluminum-silicon alloy-based baron carbon are, to the best of our knowledge, very rare. The current work was inspired by the desire to evaluate the mechanical behavior of the hybridized Al-12Si/5% B4C using FeTi as supplementary reinforcement at varying dosages of 3, 6, and 9 wt.% and fabricated via the powder metallurgy route.