Tribological characteristics of aluminium tri-reinforced particles (Al- TRP) composites developed by liquid metallurgy route

Discontinuous reinforced aluminum matrix composites (DAMCs) are widely used in automobiles, military and many other engineering areas due to their attractive properties. DAMCs are used in automobile industries for manufacturing bogies, cars and other structural components. Apart from this it is also used in components which are subjected to high temperatures. In the present work we have studied the tribological characteristics of DAMCs containing zircon sand, SiC and Zirfloor as reinforced ceramic particles in Al alloy. These three types of ceramic particles (particle size 5-32 μm) are reinforced in the Al-12Si alloy (LM13) by liquid metallurgy route (stir casting technique). Total 15 wt% of the tri reinforced particles (TRP) are added in LM13 alloy to fabricate Al-TRP composite for tribological application. Wear characteristics of Al-TRP composites have been investigated under dry sliding conditions. Dry sliding wear tests have been carried out using a pinon- disc method at 1Kg and 5Kg loads. Sliding distance during the wear test was about 3000 meters with a constant sliding velocity of 1.6 ms-1. In the study it was observed that wear rate of the composite increases with increase in amount of load. Microhardness measurement was done for the developed Al-TRP composite. SEM images of wear track on composite gives better idea of the wear mechanism. Wear debris collected after the wear test was also examined for deeper understanding of wear behavior. Study reveals that about equal amount of ZrSiO₄, SiC and Zirfloor reinforced particle in Al-TRP composite exhibits better wear resistance compared to aluminum base alloy.