Mechanical properties of lead alloy based composite materials for battery applications

The present paper is a report of an investigation made into the mechanical properties of lead alloy composite materials reinforced with two different ceramic particles namely zircon and Sic. The lead-antimony alloy(lead 80% and antimony 20%)was used as the base matrix alloy in either case. The composite materials were fabricated using vortex method by dispersing the ceramic particles from 1 to 5 percent by weight in steps of 2% into the molten lead alloy above the liquidus temperature. The size of the part-icles used was 90 to 150 um in either case. The influence of the two dispersoids on the properties on the properties of lead alloy was evaluated. It was found that both the lead/SiC as well as in the lead/zircon composites, the ultimate tensile strength and hardness increased while the ductility decreased with the increase in weight % Sic and zircon in the alloy respectively.