Synthesis and Characterization of Sintered AZ91D Magnesium Matrix Composites Reinforced with Red Mud particles

Magnesium AZ91D alloy is reinforced with red mud particles, is the by-product of alumina which is extracted from refining of bauxite throughbayer process to fabricate low cost novel composite by powder metallurgy technique. Reinforcement ratio was varied from 0% to 15% whereas size of the particles were kept as 30μm.The microstructure and mechanical properties such as density and microhardness of the composite were evaluated. Microstructural characterization of the sintered composite revealed a near uniform distribution of the red mud particulates with magnesium alloy metal matrix.The test results indicated that the increase in weight % of red mud particles significantly enhances the mechanical propertiesof the composite. keywords: magnesium, sintering, powder metallurgy, red mud, microstructure, mechanical properties.