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Influence of Anadara granosa Shell Particle Mesh on the Microstructure and Impact Toughness of Aluminium 6061 Alloy
Authors:
Riki Hendra Purba1
, Althearae Nira Septin1
, James Julian1
, Elvi Armadani1
,
Fitri Wahyuni1
, Fathin Muhammad Mahdhudhu1
1Mechanical Engineering, Engineering, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta, Indonesia
Received: 28 November 2025
Revised: 7 February 2026
Accepted: 18 February 2026
Published: 31 March 2026
Abstract:
Even though Aluminium 6061 (Al6061) has low density and good corrosion resistance, its relatively low impact toughness increases the risk of failure under sudden dynamic loading. To overcome this, the addition of proper hard particle reinforcement can be applied to this alloy. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of Anadara granosa shell (AGS) with different mesh sizes (50, 80, 100) on the microstructure, impact toughness, and hardness of the Al6061 alloy. The performance of each specimen was evaluated using the Charpy impact toughness and Vickers hardness tests. Meanwhile, the microstructure was observed using SEM-EDX, which provided insights into particle distribution and its correlation with mechanical properties. The results showed that the impact toughness increased from 5.6 J to 7.6 J, 8.1 J, and 9 J. Similarly, the hardness increased from 32.7 HV to 38.4 HV, 39.7 HV, and 42.7 J as the addition of AGS. The improvement continues to increase as the size of the reinforcement decreases. This trend is also reflected in the hardness results. In addition, SEM analysis showed that the finer mesh size promotes a more uniform particle distribution, indicating a factor of impact toughness and hardness improvement. These findings indicate that AGS is an effective natural reinforcement for improving the mechanical properties of Al6061, with a mesh size of 100 providing the greatest improvement.
Keywords:
Aluminium 6061, Anadara granosa, Impact Toughness, Composite, Mesh
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© 2026 by the authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Volume 11
Number 1
March 2026
Last Edition
Volume 11
Number 1
March 2026
How to Cite
R.H. Purba, A.N. Septin, J. Julian, E. Armadani, F. Wahyuni, F.M. Mahdhudhu, Influence of Anadara granosa Shell Particle Mesh on the Microstructure and Impact Toughness of Aluminium 6061 Alloy. Applied Engineering Letters, 11(1), 2026: 44-53.
https://doi.org/10.46793/aeletters.2026.11.1.5
More Citation Formats
Purba, R.H., Septin, A.N., Julian, J., Armadani, E., Wahyuni, F., & Mahdhudhu, F.M. (2026). Influence of Anadara granosa Shell Particle Mesh on the Microstructure and Impact Toughness of Aluminium 6061 Alloy. Applied Engineering Letters, 11(1), 44-53.
https://doi.org/10.46793/aeletters.2026.11.1.5