LAUSR

Demand for materials with excellent mechanical properties and lightweight increase in a recent year especially for high-performance applications. Aluminum reinforced Al 2 O 3 composite (AMC) provide this superior property. Therefore in this research, aluminum alloy 6061 was used as a matrix and Al 2 O 3 with 10 and 15 Vf-%  as a reinforced for making metal matrix composites while magnesium as a wetting agent was used various from 8, 10  to 15 wt-% to improve the wettability between Al and Al 2 O 3 since aluminum was poor wetting with ceramic.  Al alloy 6061 was melted at 800 o C and magnesium was added into Al molten, then Al 2 O 3 particles were poured into the melt. The process using double stirrer with a rotational speed of 1000 rpm for 3 minutes to distribute all Al 2 O 3 particles in the Al melt and all the gas bubble formed was removed by flushing an Argon for 2 minutes. The composites produced then characterized both mechanical properties and microstructural analysis.  The focus of this research is to investigate the effect of Al 2 O 3 and Mg on the mechanical properties of composites. The result showed that the optimum tensile strength was 202 MPa which was obtained in composite with 10% Vf-% Al 2 O 3 and 10 wt-% Mg. Moreover, hardness and wear resistant to composite increased with the addition of Al 2 O 3 and Mg content due to good wetting in composites with 10 wt-% Mg.  The double blade stirrer has contributed to the random distribution of Al 2 O 3 particles in the molten Al. The microstructure observations showed that the composites yield pores and impaired the mechanical properties of composites.