Abstract
The use of aluminum in the automobile engines and other critical parts require a superior surface property of the same. This has led to the development of plasma sprayable surface coatings in the automotive components. To impart the maximum bonding strength, along with hardness to the coatings, an aluminum based composite (Al-SiC) was chosen to be the most suitable. The presence of a hard second phase within a soft matrix improves the wear resistance of the material. The metal matrix composite powders were made by mechanical alloying of 6061 aluminum alloy (particle size 40-60 μm) along with fine SiC particles (≈ 8μm). Content of SiC was varied from 20-75vol% the balance being aluminum alloy. An organic material was used as Process Control Agent to optimize distribution of ceramic within metal matrix. The coatings obtained by plasma spraying the powders were characterized for their microstructure, adherence, wear and other physical properties.