EFFECT OF TiB 2 ON THE CORROSION RESISTANCE BEHAVIOR OF IN SITU Al COMPOSITES P. Senthil Kumar and V. Murali Krishna Department of Mechanical Engineering, B.V. Raju Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Telengana, India V. Kavimani Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India K. Soorya Prakash Department of Mechanical Engineering, Anna University Regional Campus, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India G. Shanthos Kumar Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India Copyright Ó 2019 American Foundry Society https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-019-00330-3 Abstract This research focuses on a detailed investigation for understanding the corrosion behavior of A356 Al alloy- based metal matrix composites reinforced with in situ TiB 2 particles. The aforesaid newer composite samples were fabricated by adopting in situ technique using halide salts by stir casting route under various pouring temperatures of 750 °C, 780 °C and 810 °C maintained at a constant holding time of 20 min. The so-developed Al MMC samples were then subjected to microstructure and electrochemical studies. Surface morphology of samples showcases for the formation of TiB 2 particles over and above the surface of fabricated composite specimens. Corrosion behavior of the samples were investigated exhaustively by using Tafel polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy under 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. The attained results depict that whenever there is a gradual increase in pouring temperature, substantial improvement in the corrosion resistance of developed samples is also evidenced. Keywords: Al, TiB 2 , casting route, Tafel polarization, impedance spectroscopy Introduction Automotive industry estimates that about 70% of fuel consumption was majorly related to the vehicle weight besides holding a known list of adverse effects. As a consequence, use of lightweight alloys in cars for end-to- end manufacturing has been drastically incorporated right from the last decade. Among the range of suitable materials availability, A356 aluminum alloy was widely used in the automotive field just because of its good mechanical properties and easy castability. However, its poor corrosion resistance restricts it from being recommended for a variety of applications effectively. 1–5 Headed for being accept- able without being simply submerged, these essentials are ratified through the adoption of new age technocrats, herein composite materials were considered as an extraordinary choice of best alternative to assist in material selection. These so-called composite materials basically consist of two physically dissimilar phases, and hence they aptly disperse to deliver properties that are not easily attainable with either of the separate phases; the major highlight is that these dissimilar phases will join together, but it will not at all dissolve within each other. 6–8 It is well acknowledged by universal researchers that the addition of reinforcement particles to the matrix materials will definitely help to deliver preferred properties of the developed composite is material concerned. Irrespective of the combination (other than the tailor-made developments), the newer composites exhibit better strength compared to the selected base matrix material. Any such metal matrix composite (MMC) will be manufactured by means of 84 International Journal of Metalcasting/Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020