Fracture and Structural Integrity e-ISSN 1971-8993 Open access
Integrity of materials and structures Vol. 20, No. 76 (2026)

Effect of B₄C variation on the mechanical, fractographic and tribological performance of hybrid composites Al7075/Gr/ZrO₂

Author and affiliation details
  • R. Sampath Kumar Corresponding author Mechanical Engg. Department , Government Polytechnic Hosadurga-577527, Karnataka, India. ORCID iD0009-0003-1950-7397 SAMPATHKR39@GMAIL.COM
  • H. C. Chittappa Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bangalore University, Bangalore-560001, Karnataka, India ORCID iD0009-0005-6897-1967
  • Praveena Bindiganavile Anand Department of Mechanical Engineering Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology (NMIT), Nitte (Deemed to be University), Yelahanka, Bangalore, 560064, Karnataka, India ORCID iD0000-0001-7250-4599
  • Manjunath Vatnalmath Department of Mechanical Engineering, RNS Institute of Technology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. ORCID iD0000-0003-3138-9453
  • Madeva Nagaral Aircraft Research and Design Centre, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore-560037, Karnataka, India
DOI
10.3221/IGF-ESIS.76.05
Pages
67-81
Published
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Published inVol. 20, No. 76 (2026)Go to the issue

Abstract

The current study focuses on the influence of varying levels of boron-carbide (B4C) particles on mechanical and tribological characteristics of Al7075 hybrid composites that are strengthened by fixed percentages of graphite (Gr) and zirconia (ZrO2). Hybrid composites were made by stir casting the 2 and 4 wt.% of B4C to Al7075-Gr-ZrO2 matrix in two-steps. The reinforcements were evenly spread throughout the matrix was confirmed by analysis through electron microscopy SEM together with elemental mapping through energy dispersive spectroscopy was utilized. Microstructural properties, tensile, hardness, and wear behaviour of the resulting hybrid composites were tested. The findings suggest that the adding of 4 wt.% B4C shall improve the hardness of Al7075 hybrid reinforced composites to 87 BHN, the UTS by 37% (214 MPa to 293 MPa) and vice versa slight decrease in ductility was attributed due to the addition of B4C. The tribological study revealed that the resistance to wear increased with additions of B4C as the hard ceramic particles served as load bearing phases. These results demonstrate the importance of B4C variation in improving mechanical and tribological behaviour of Al7075-Gr-ZrO2 hybrid reinforced composites in potential structural and aerospace application.

Keywords

Article history

  1. ReceivedUntil the next stage: 41 days
  2. Revision requestedUntil the next stage: 4 days
  3. RevisedUntil the next stage: 7 days
  4. AcceptedUntil the next stage: 2 days
  5. Published

About the authors

Manjunath Vatnalmath

  Manuscript Updation

Madeva Nagaral

Manuscript Updation

How to cite

APA

Sampath Kumar, R., Chittappa, H. C., Anand, P. B., Vatnalmath, M., & Nagaral, M. (2026). Effect of B₄C variation on the mechanical, fractographic and tribological performance of hybrid composites Al7075/Gr/ZrO₂. Fracture and Structural Integrity, 20(76), 67–81. https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.76.05

IEEE

R. Sampath Kumar, H. C. Chittappa, P. B. Anand, M. Vatnalmath, and M. Nagaral, “Effect of B₄C variation on the mechanical, fractographic and tribological performance of hybrid composites Al7075/Gr/ZrO₂,” Fracture and Structural Integrity, vol. 20, no. 76, pp. 67–81, 2026, doi: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.76.05.

MLA

Sampath Kumar, R., et al. “Effect of B₄C variation on the mechanical, fractographic and tribological performance of hybrid composites Al7075/Gr/ZrO₂.” Fracture and Structural Integrity, vol. 20, no. 76, 2026, pp. 67–81. https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.76.05.

Chicago

Sampath Kumar, R., H. C. Chittappa, Praveena Bindiganavile Anand, Manjunath Vatnalmath, and Madeva Nagaral. 2026. “Effect of B₄C variation on the mechanical, fractographic and tribological performance of hybrid composites Al7075/Gr/ZrO₂.” Fracture and Structural Integrity 20 (76): 67–81. https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.76.05.

Harvard

Sampath Kumar, R., Chittappa, H.C., Anand, P.B., Vatnalmath, M. and Nagaral, M. (2026) ‘Effect of B₄C variation on the mechanical, fractographic and tribological performance of hybrid composites Al7075/Gr/ZrO₂’, Fracture and Structural Integrity, 20(76), pp. 67–81. doi: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.76.05.

Vancouver

Sampath Kumar R, Chittappa HC, Anand PB, Vatnalmath M, Nagaral M. Effect of B₄C variation on the mechanical, fractographic and tribological performance of hybrid composites Al7075/Gr/ZrO₂. Fracture and Structural Integrity. 2026;20(76):67-81. doi:10.3221/IGF-ESIS.76.05

BibTeX

@article{sampathkumar2026, author = {Sampath Kumar, R. and Chittappa, H. C. and Anand, Praveena Bindiganavile and Vatnalmath, Manjunath and Nagaral, Madeva}, title = {Effect of B₄C variation on the mechanical, fractographic and tribological performance of hybrid composites Al7075/Gr/ZrO₂}, journal = {Fracture and Structural Integrity}, year = {2026}, volume = {20}, number = {76}, pages = {67--81}, doi = {10.3221/IGF-ESIS.76.05}, url = {https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.76.05}, issn = {1971-8993} }

RIS

TY - JOUR AU - Sampath Kumar, R. AU - Chittappa, H. C. AU - Anand, Praveena Bindiganavile AU - Vatnalmath, Manjunath AU - Nagaral, Madeva TI - Effect of B₄C variation on the mechanical, fractographic and tribological performance of hybrid composites Al7075/Gr/ZrO₂ JO - Fracture and Structural Integrity T2 - Fracture and Structural Integrity PY - 2026 DA - 2026/01/10 VL - 20 IS - 76 SP - 67 EP - 81 DO - 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.76.05 UR - https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.76.05 SN - 1971-8993 ER -

Licence

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

May be shared and adapted, provided appropriate credit is given. Copyright © 2026 R. Sampath Kumar, H. C. Chittappa, Praveena Bindiganavile Anand, Manjunath Vatnalmath, Madeva Nagaral.

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