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International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7 (4.27) (2018) 162-164
International Journal of Engineering & Technology
Website: www.sciencepubco.com/index.php/IJET
Research paper
The Effect of Palm Oil Fly Ash Reinforcement on Recycle
Aluminium via Sand Casting
Mohd Hafiz Mohd Noh
1
*, Azzura Ismail
2
, Ahmad Hussein Abdul Hamid
3
13
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
2
Faculty of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia
*Corresponding author E-mail: mhafiz_noh@yahoo.com
Abstract
Recycle aluminium has been mixed with palm oil fly ash based on fraction weight of overall weight of palm oil fly ashes to aluminium
recycle. The ratios discussed on this paper are 0%, 3% 6%, 9%, 12% and 15%. The samples have been developed via sand casting meth-
od. The result shows that the best composition has been achieved when we added 3% of palm oil fly ashes, with the new composite alu-
minum have a highest hardness with the value of 119.7HV, with the Modulus of raptured of 7.71Mkg/m
2
;Keywords: Composite Aluminum; Palm Oil Fly Ashes; Recycle Aluminium; Hardness; Modulus of Rapture
1. Introduction
Palm oil fly ashes is a waste from palm oil in powder form, has
amorphous characteristic and normally in black-grey in color,
which darker means higher carbon contain [1]. The composition of
palm oil fly ashes are as follows in Figure 1.
Fig. 1: Fly Ashes compositions
The fly ash has been chosen due to inexpensive, low density rein-
forcement available in large quantities as solid waste by-product
during combustion of palm oil in power plant. The special charac-
teristics palm oil fly ash is on their free lime. This free lime is
capable to reduce diffusion and sulfate effect, as well as have
higher strength. Fly ash particles are mostly in spherical shape and
the shape is insignificant changes even it being mixed with other
material [2]. As for coal fly ash, it widely being used in cement as
an additive, in lightweight alloy as a concrete aggregate, in struc-
tural fill materials as roofing granules and also in in most of Metal
Matrix Composite (MMC) [3].
Casting method is very famous methods that frequently used in
Aluminum and fly ash mixed, including squeeze casting technolo-
gy and gravity casting [4]. Besides that, impeller mixing also an-
other method that been used in Al-Fly Ash composite reinforce-
ment process [3]. Furthermore, [5] and [6] has developed the alu-
minium fly ash composite via stir casting. The objective of this
research is to study the effect of the reinforcement of palm oil fly
ash into the recycle aluminum by using sand casting method, since
this method is less being used in similar composite development.
2. Literature / Previous Research
Upon synthesized the A356 Aluminium Fly Ash composite, it
found that fly ash with small range of particle size has shown bet-
ter mechanical properties in term of ductile and brittle behaviour
as compare with wider range of particle size [7]. This also sup-
ported [8] and [5] which concluded that by increase the weight
fraction of fly ash may increase hardness of the respective compo-
site.
At certain level of increasing the weight fraction percentage of
palm oil fly ash may make the hardness become more harmful and
this has been proved by [9]. He has studied the dry sliding friction
and wear condition of fly ash reinforced AA-6351 Metal Matrix
Composite. By end of his research, he concluded that small
amount weight percentage can give benefit to hardness, but after
9% of reinforcement, the hardness getting worst.
Different technique in composite preparation (Aluminium adding
with fly ash) also may give different result. This has been proved
by [9]. The weight fraction of fly ash is varied between 3% up to
12%. The result shows the based alloy prepared by squeeze cast-
ing has lower porosity as compared with gravity casting method at
the same amount of weight fraction percentage.
3. Methodology
Main materials used in this research are aluminum recycle and
palm oil fly ashes. Palm oil fly ashes that has been used in this
research is 2
nd
stage fly ashes, which the size is 250μm< fly ashes
size <500μm. This size is very suitable to use for casting process.