Introduction of Reinforcement Material into the Weld Joint During Joining Process of Aluminium Metal Matrix Composite

The aim of coating the aluminum electrode is to introduce SIC into weld pool so that the weld metal becomes a Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) of Al and SIC. In this paper, the coating of silicon carbide is carried out by dipping the aluminum electrode filler wire in the slurry prepared by using distilled water, sodium silicate and silicon carbide powder. During experiment the water content is maintained constant (100ml). The present investigation reveals the coating of silicon carbide on filler wire is uniform and with the increase of % of silicon carbide and sodium silicate, thickness of the coating also increases. The coating on top of existing coating was carried out and again the thickness of coating was studied. Results show that the thickness of coating increases substantially after second coat. This type of coating of filler wire with SiC helps to introduce SiC into the weld pool.