2026 Iyer Silicon Diffusion Age Hardening

Commercially available pure aluminium is an alloy with Si, Cu and Mg impurities lacking in strength and surface hardness compared to its conventional alloys due to small quantity of these additives. This study aims to investigate the effects of thermochemical silicon diffusion and age hardening on the mechanical and tribological properties of commercial grade aluminium. The methodology involved experimental procedures where pure aluminium samples were subjected to silicon diffusion treatments followed by age hardening processes. Mechanical tests were conducted to evaluate hardness, tensile strength, and wear resistance of the treated samples in comparison to untreated ones. The results demonstrated significant improvements in both mechanical and tribological properties post-treatment, with enhanced hardness and wear resistance observed in samples subjected to thermochemical silicon diffusion. The findings of this research suggest that employing silicon diffusion in conjunction with age hardening could be a viable method to improve the performance characteristics of commercial grade aluminium, thus making it more competitive against traditional aluminium alloys used in various engineering applications.