The use of waste products/materials in research has continued to gain ground because it enhances the maximum utilization of materials and promotes a clean and healthy environment. In this work, ceramic waste from floor-tiles has been collected and used as a reinforcement to form an aluminium matrix composite using stir-casting technology. The tiles were ground into powder and the particle size below 0.063mm was selected and subjected to XRD and XRF analyses to ascertain its composition. The percentage weight fractions (%wt) of the reinforcement (R) added in aluminium matrix were; 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 wt%R. Also, a constant amount of 1.0 wt% magnesium was added to evaluate the effect of Mg on the samples. The samples produced were subjected to Vicker’s hardness and tensile tests. The results of the XRD and XRF analyses showed that the main contents of the floor-tile were Al2O3, SiO2, CaO, and TiO; while other complex ceramic compounds in smaller amounts were also present. The hardness results showed a gradual increase with the amount of reinforcement from 30.1 VHN in unreinforced aluminium to 59.6 VHN in the sample containing 6.0wt%R. Similarly, the tensile test results showed an increase from 42.4N/mm2 in the unreinforced sample to 78.9N/mm2 in the sample containing 4.0 wt%R then decreased to 68.5N/mm2 in the sample containing 6.0 wt % R. With the addition of 1.0 wt % Mg, the minimum and maximum hardness and tensile strength values were 32.6 and 62.1 VHN; and 44.2 and 89.1N/mm2 respectively. The results show that the prospect of using waste floor-tiles to improve the mechanical properties of aluminium matrix composite for engineering applications is promising.

The use of waste products/materials in research has continued to gain ground because it enhances the maximum utilization of materials and promotes a clean and healthy environment. In this work, ceramic waste from floor-tiles has been collected and used as a reinforcement to form an aluminium matrix composite using stir-casting technology. The tiles were ground into powder and the particle size below 0.063mm was selected and subjected to XRD and XRF analyses to ascertain its composition. The percentage weight fractions (%wt) of the reinforcement (R) added in aluminium matrix were; 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 wt%R. Also, a constant amount of 1.0 wt% magnesium was added to evaluate the effect of Mg on the samples. The samples produced were subjected to Vicker’s hardness and tensile tests. The results of the XRD and XRF analyses showed that the main contents of the floor-tile were Al2O3, SiO2, CaO, and TiO; while other complex ceramic compounds in smaller amounts were also present. The hardness results showed a gradual increase with the amount of reinforcement from 30.1 VHN in unreinforced aluminium to 59.6 VHN in the sample containing 6.0wt%R. Similarly, the tensile test results showed an increase from 42.4N/mm2 in the unreinforced sample to 78.9N/mm2 in the sample containing 4.0 wt%R then decreased to 68.5N/mm2 in the sample containing 6.0 wt % R. With the addition of 1.0 wt % Mg, the minimum and maximum hardness and tensile strength values were 32.6 and 62.1 VHN; and 44.2 and 89.1N/mm2 respectively. The results show that the prospect of using waste floor-tiles to improve the mechanical properties of aluminium matrix composite for engineering applications is promising.