Aluminum matrix composite with 10 wt% of MoO3 particulate reinforcement was synthesized through powder metallurgy technique. The cold upsetting studies of the composites were investigated based on Taguchi L9 orthogonal array experimental design to evaluate the significance of compaction pressure, sintering temperature, and sintering time on strength coefficient. The combination of 350 MPa pressure, 600 °C temperature, and 90 minutes sintering time was identified as the optimum blend for maximum strength coefficient using the main effect plot. From the analysis of variance, compaction pressure and sintering temperature were identified as highly contributing parameters on strength coefficient. Further, a confirmation test was also conducted with the optimum parameter for validation of the Taguchi results. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to confirm the presence of MoO3 and its uniform distribution over the aluminum matrix.

Aluminum metal matrix hybrid composites were synthesized through powder metallurgy route from ball milled powders to yield the compositions: Al + 0% TiO2, Al + 2.5% TiO2, Al + 2.5% TiO2 + 2% Gr, and Al + 2.5% TiO2 + 4% Gr. The densification and deformation properties of sintered Al–TiO2–Gr composites during cold upsetting were investigated experimentally. The powder preforms are compacted using suitable punch and die in 40 kN hydraulic press and the initial percentage theoretical density was maintained as 85%. Sintering was done in an electric muffle furnace at the temperature of 590 °C for a period of 3 h. The sintered preforms were subjected to incremental compressive loading of 10 kN until cracks were found at the free surface. The true axial stress (σz), true hoop stress (σθ), true hydrostatic stress (σm), and true effective stress (σeff) were calculated for all the preforms and all these stresses are correlated with the true axial strain (εz). The densification behaviors of the composites were studied against true axial strain (εz) and lateral strain. Better densification and deformation property were obtained for pure aluminum preforms compared with other composite preforms. Addition of TiO2 to the pure Al and Gr reinforcements increases the strength coefficient of the Al–TiO2 composite.