Int. J. Manufacturing Technology and Management, Vol. 34, No. 4, 2020 395 Copyright © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Mechanical characterisation of Al and Al-4%Cu alloy prepared by horizontal centrifugal casting process Smrutirekha Sen*, Sudheer Reddy and P.G. Mukunda Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bangalore 560064, India Email: smruti.sen@gmail.com Email: sudheerreddy2@gmail.com Email: mukundapeegee@yahoo.co.in *Corresponding author Abstract: Casts of aluminium (Al) and aluminium-copper alloy (Al-4%Cu) were produced using horizontal centrifugal casting method at varied process parameters such as rotational speed, aspect ratio and mould wall thicknesses. The effects of mould wall thickness and rotational speed on the microstructure of Al and Al-4%Cu alloy had been investigated. The hardness of Al casts determined was lower than that of Al-4%Cu alloy and was found to be improved than that of conventional castings. Specific wear rate of centrifugally cast Al-4%Cu alloy was lower than those of pure Al casts. The coefficient of friction and frictional force of specimens was found to be lower for the cast produced under a greater rotational speed of the mould and it was also observed that frictional force gradually increases with load. The presence of copper in aluminium base (4% Cu) has enhanced the ultimate tensile strength of the alloy. Keywords: centrifugal casting; hardness; wearing behaviour; Al-4%Cu alloy. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Sen, S., Reddy, S. and Mukunda, P.G. (2020) ‘Mechanical characterisation of Al and Al-4%Cu alloy prepared by horizontal centrifugal casting process’, Int. J. Manufacturing Technology and Management, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp.395–404. Biographical notes: Smrutirekha Sen is pursuing PhD under Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi, Karnataka. For 12 years, she is into teaching on various undergraduate subjects of mechanical engineering. Her research work focuses on study of flow behaviour in centrifugal casting and optimising the process parameters in order to obtain a sound cast. Sudheer Reddy holds a Doctorate degree in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Karnataka Surathkal. His areas of research interest include optimisation and development of metal matrix composites through solid and liquid processing routes and also in conceptualisation of solutions to industrial problems through the novel design combined with superior mechanical and tribological properties. P.G. Mukunda is a PhD from IISc, Bangalore in Powder Mettalurgy. In his 54 years of research as well as teaching carrier, he has published more than hundred technical papers in international journals. His area of interest includes powder mettalurgy, material science and centrifugal casting. He has presented many papers at conferences in India and abroad.