Wear Behavior of Composites Based on ZA-27 Alloy Reinforced by Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> Particles Under Dry Sliding Condition

In present study, the effect of Al₂O₃ particle reinforcement on the sliding behavior of ZA-27 alloy composites was investigated. The composites with 3, 5, and 10 wt% of Al₂O₃ particles were produced by the compocasting procedure. Tribological properties of unreinforced alloy and composite were studied, using block-on-disk tribometer under unlubricated sliding conditions at different specific loads and sliding speeds. The worn surfaces of samples were examined by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The test results revealed that those composite specimens exhibited significantly lower wear rate than the ZA-27 matrix alloy specimens in all combinations of applied loads and sliding speeds. The difference in the wear resistance of composite with respect to the matrix alloy, increased with the increase of the applied load/sliding speed and Al₂O₃ particle content. The highest degree of improvement of the ZA-27 alloy tribological behavior corresponded with change of the Al₂O₃ particles content from 3 to 5 wt%. At low sliding speed, moderate lower wear rate of the composites over that of the matrix alloy was noticed. This has been attributed to micro cracking tendency of the composites. Significantly reduced wear rate, experienced by the composite over that of the matrix alloy at the higher sliding speeds and loads, could be explained due to enhanced compatibility of matrix alloy with dispersoid phase and greater thermal stability of the composite in view of the presence of the dispersoid. Level of wear rate of tested ZA-27/Al₂O₃ samples pointed to the process of mild wear, which was primarily controlled by the formation and destruction of mechanical mixed layers (MMLs).     

Sliding wear behavior of planar random zinc-alloy matrix composites

The friction and wear behavior of planar random zinc-alloy matrix composites reinforced by discontinuous carbon fibres under dry sliding and lubricated sliding conditions has been investigated using a block-on-ring apparatus. The effects of fibre volume fractions and loads on the sliding wear resistance of the zinc-alloy matrix composites were studied. Experiments were performed within a load range of 50–300 N at a constant sliding velocity of 0.8 m s⁻¹. The composites with different volume fractions of carbon fibres (0–30%) were used as the block specimens, and a medium-carbon steel used as the ring specimen. Increasing the carbon fibre volume fraction significantly decreased the coefficient of friction and wear rates of both the composites and the medium-carbon steel under dry sliding conditions. Under lubricated sliding conditions, however, increasing the carbon fibre volume fraction substantially increased the coefficient of friction, and slightly increased the wear of the medium-carbon steel, while reducing the wear of the composite.Under dry sliding conditions, an increasing load increased not only the wear rates of both the composite and the unreinforced zinc alloy, but also those of their corresponding steel rings. However, the rate of increase of wear with increasing load for both the composite and its corresponding steel ring was much smaller than for the unreinforced zinc alloy and its corresponding steel ring. The coefficient of friction under dry sliding conditions appeared to be constant as load increased within a load range of 50–150 N for both the composite and the unreinforced zinc alloy, but increased at the higher loads. Under any load the coefficient of friction of the composite was lower than half that of the unreinforced zinc alloy under dry sliding conditions.     

Tribology characteristics of magnesium alloy AZ31B and its composites

In this paper, wear characteristics of magnesium alloy, AZ31B, and its nano-composites, AZ31B/nano-Al₂O_3, processed by the disintegrated melt deposition technique are investigated. The experiments were carried out using a pin-on-disk configuration against a steel disk counterface under different sliding speeds of 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 m/s for 10 N normal load, and 1, 3 and 5 m/s for 30 N normal load. The worn samples and wear debris were then examined under a field emission scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer to reveal its wear features. The wear test results show that the wear rates of the composites are gradually reduced over the sliding speed range for both normal loads. The composite wear rates are higher than that of the alloy at low speeds and lower when sliding speed further increased. The coefficient of friction results of both the alloy and composites are in the range of 0.25–0.45 and reaches minimums at 5 m/s under 10 N and 3 m/s under 30 N load. Microstructural characterization results established different dominant mechanisms at different sliding speeds, namely, abrasion, delamination, oxidation, adhesion and thermal softening and melting. An experimental wear map was then constructed.     

Tribological Behavior of Composites Based on ZA-27 Alloy Reinforced with Graphite Particles

The objective of this investigation is to assess the influence of graphite reinforcement on tribological behavior of ZA-27 alloy. The composite with 2 wt% of graphite particles was produced by the compocasting procedure. Tribological properties of unreinforced alloy and composite were studied, using block-on-disk tribometer, under dry and lubricated sliding conditions at different specific loads and sliding speeds. The worn surfaces of the samples were examined by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained results revealed that ZA-27/graphite composite specimens exhibited significantly lower wear rate and coefficient of friction than the matrix alloy specimens in all the combinations of applied loads (F _n ) and sliding speeds (v) in dry and lubricated tests. The positive tribological effects of graphite reinforcement of ZA-27 in dry sliding tests were provided by the tribo-induced graphite film on the contact surface of composite. In test conditions, characterized by the small graphite content and modest sliding speeds and applied loads, nonuniform tribo-induced graphite films were formed leading to the increase of the friction coefficient and wear rate, with increase of the sliding speed and applied load. In conditions of lubricated sliding, the very fine graphite particles formed in the contact interface mix with the lubricating oil forming the emulsion with improved tribological characteristics. Smeared graphite decreased the negative influence of F _n on tribological response of composites, what is manifested by the mild regime of the boundary lubrication, as well as by realization of the mixed lubrication at lower values of the v/F _n ratio, with respect to the matrix alloy.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Wear Mechanism for In Situ TiC Particle Reinforced AZ91 Magnesium Matrix Composites

TiC reinforced AZ91 magnesium matrix composites have been fabricated by a melt in situ reaction spray deposition. The microstructures of spray-deposited alloys were studied by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The dry sliding wear behavior of the alloys was investigated by using a pin-on-disc machine under five loads, namely 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 N. The composites had much better wear-resistance than the matrix alloy. The wear behavior of the composites was dependent on the TiC content in the microstructure and the applied load. The improvement in the wear resistance of the composites became more prominent at larger normal load. At a lower load (10 N), with increasing TiC content, the wear rate of the composite was decreased, and the dominant wear mechanism was an oxidative mechanism. At a higher loads (50 N), a spray-deposited AZ91/TiC composites exhibited superior wear resistance to the AZ91 magnesium alloy, and the dominant wear mechanism was delamination.     

Influence of T4 Heat Treatment on Tribological Behavior of Za27 Alloy Under Lubricated Sliding Condition

The effects of heat treatment on the microstructure, hardness, tensile properties, and tribological behavior of ZA27 alloy were examined. The alloys were prepared by conventional melting and casting route. The heat treatment of samples included the heating up to 370 °C for 3 or 5 h, quenching in water, and natural aging. Lubricated sliding wear test were conducted on as-cast and heat-treated ZA27 samples using block-on-disc machine. The friction and wear behavior of alloys were tested in contact with steel discs using combinations of three levels of load (10, 30, and 50 N) and three levels of linear sliding speeds (0.26, 0.50, and 1.00 m/s). To determine the wear mechanisms, the worn surfaces of the samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The heat treatment resulted in reduction in the hardness and tensile strength but increase in elongation. The heat-treated alloy samples attained improved tribological behavior over the as-cast ones, under all combinations of sliding speeds and contact loads. The rate of improvement increased with duration of solutionizing process before quenching in water. Obtained tribological results were related to the effects of heat treatment on microstructure changes of alloy.     

Dry sliding wear behaviour of an aluminium alloy–granite particle composite

In the present study, the effect of granite reinforcement on the dry sliding wear behaviour of an aluminium–silicon alloy (BS:LM6) was investigated using a pin-on-disc machine. The composite was prepared using liquid metallurgy technique wherein 10 wt.% granite particles were incorporated in the matrix alloy. Sliding wear tests were conducted at applied loads in the range 0.2–1.6 MPa and speeds of 1.89, 3.96 and 5.55 m/s. The matrix alloy was also prepared and tested under identical conditions in order to see the influence of the dispersoid phase on wear behaviour. It was observed that the composite exhibited lower wear rate than that of the matrix alloy. Increasing applied load increased the wear rate. In the case of the composite, the wear rate decreased with speed except at higher pressures at the maximum speed; the trend reversed in the latter case. On the contrary, the matrix alloy exhibited minimum wear rate at the intermediate test speed. Seizure pressure of the composite was significantly higher than that of the matrix alloy, while temperature rise near the contacting surfaces and the coefficient of friction followed an opposite trend. SEM examination of the worn surfaces, subsurface regions and debris enabled to understand the operating wear mechanisms.     

Tribological Properties of a Nano-Eutectic Fe<Subscript>1.87</Subscript>C<Subscript>0.13</Subscript> Alloy Under Water Environment

Tribological properties of a nano-eutectic Fe_1.87C_0.13 alloy were investigated under distilled-water lubrication against AISI52100 steel ball for various applied loads and sliding speeds. For comparison, the tribological behavior of annealed coarse-grained Fe_1.87C_0.13 alloy was also examined under the same testing conditions. Worn surfaces of both alloys were analyzed by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The wear rate of nano-eutectic Fe_1.87C_0.13 alloy was on the order of 10⁻⁵ mm³/m. The wear rate of nano-eutectic Fe_1.87C_0.13 alloy was higher than that of annealed Fe_1.87C_0.13 alloy at lower load, but lower under higher load. The friction coefficients of the two alloys were similar and exhibited a slight increase with increasing sliding speed, but a small decrease with increasing applied load. The wear mechanism of the nano-eutectic Fe_1.87C_0.13 alloy was transformed from plowing and corrosion wear to slight fatigue cracking with increasing applied load, whereas that of the annealed coarse-grained Fe_1.87C_0.13 alloy was transformed from plowing and corrosion wear to severe fatigue flaking.     

The influence of alumina particle dispersion and test parameters on dry sliding wear behaviour of zinc-based alloy

The present investigation deals with dry sliding wear characteristics of a zinc-based alloy (ZA 37) with and without Al₂O₃ particle dispersion over a range of sliding speeds and applied pressures. The matrix alloy has been examined under identical test conditions in order to examine the role played by the second phase alumina particles on wear behaviour. The observed wear behaviour of the samples has been explained in terms of specific characteristics like cracking tendency, lubricating, load bearing and deformability characteristics, and thermal stability of various microconstituents. The nature of predominance of one set of parameters (causing higher wear rate) over the other (producing a reverse effect) was thought to actually control the wear behaviour. Examinations of the characteristic of wear surfaces and subsurface regions also enabled to understand the operating wear mechanism and to substantiate the wear behaviour.At low sliding speed, significantly lower wear rate of the matrix alloy over that of the composite was noticed. This has been attributed to increased microcracking tendency of the composite than the matrix alloy. Reduced wear rate and higher seizure pressure experienced by the composite over that of the matrix alloy at the higher sliding speeds could be explained to be due to enhanced compatibility of matrix alloy with dispersoid phase and greater thermal stability of the composite in view of the presence of the dispersoid. The maximum temperature rise due to frictional heating has been observed to be low in the case of matrix alloy than composite at low speed while the trend reversed at higher speeds. In general, the wear rate and temperature increased with applied pressure and speed. Seizure pressure reduced with increasing speed while the seizure resistance (pressure) of the matrix alloy was more adversely affected by speed than that of the composite.     

Potential of kenaf fibres as reinforcement for tribological applications

This paper presents an attempt to use kenaf fibres as reinforcement for tribo-composite based on epoxy for bearing applications. Kenaf fibres reinforced epoxy (KFRE) composite was fabricated using a closed mould technique associated with vacuum system. Sliding wear and frictional behaviour of the composite were studied against polished stainless steel counterface using Block-On-Disc (BOD) machine at different applied loads (30–100 N), sliding distances (0–5 km) and sliding velocities (1.1–3.9 m/s). The effect of the fibre orientations, with respect to the sliding direction, was considered; these orientations are parallel (P-O), anti-parallel (AP-O) and normal (N-O). The morphology of the worn surfaces of the composite was studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The result revealed that the presence of kenaf fibres in the composite enhanced the wear and frictional performance of the epoxy. Applied load and sliding velocity have less effect on the specific wear rate of the composite in all the three orientations. The composite exhibited better wear performance in N-O compared to P-O and AP-O.     

Wear and friction behavior of Al6061 alloy reinforced with carbon nanotubes

Friction and wear behavior of Al6061 monolithic alloy and 1 wt% CNTs reinforced Al6061 composite prepared through ball milling and spark plasma sintering was investigated. It was found that, under mild wear conditions, the composite displayed lower wear rate and friction coefficient compared to the monolithic alloy. However, for severe wear conditions, the composite displayed higher wear rate and friction coefficient compared to the monolithic alloy. Analysis of worn surfaces revealed that, at lower loads, abrasion was the dominant wear mechanism for both materials. At higher loads, adhesion was found to be dominant for the monolithic alloy while excessive sub-surface fracturing and delamination were mainly observed for the composite. Also, it was clarified that the friction and wear behavior of Al–CNT composites is largely influenced by the applied load and there exists a critical load beyond which CNTs could have a negative impact on the wear resistance of aluminum alloy.     

Friction and wear behavior of Ni-P coated Si3N4 reinforced Al6061 composites

Al6061 matrix composite reinforced with nickel coated silicon nitride particles were manufactured by liquid metallurgy route. Microstructure and tribological properties of both matrix alloy and developed composites have been evaluated. Dry sliding friction and wear tests were carried out using pin on disk type machine over a load range of 20-100 N and sliding velocities of range 0.31-1.57 m/s. Results revealed that, nickel coated silicon nitride particles are uniformly distributed through out the matrix alloy. Al6061-Ni-P-Si₃N₄ composite exhibited lower coefficient of friction and wear rate compared to matrix alloy. The coefficient of friction of both matrix alloy and developed composite decreased with increase in load up to 80 N. Beyond this, with further increase in the load, the coefficient of friction increased slightly. However, with increase in sliding velocity coefficient of friction of both matrix alloy and developed composite increases continuously. Wear rates of both matrix alloy and developed composites increased with increase in both load and sliding velocity. Worn surfaces and wear debris was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for possible wear mechanisms. Energy dispersive spectroscope (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS) techniques were used to identify the oxides formed on the worn surfaces and wear debris.     

Sliding Wear Characteristics of AZ91D Alloy at Ambient Temperatures of 25–200 °C

The dry sliding wear tests were performed for AZ91D alloy under the loads of 12.5–300 N and the ambient temperatures of 25–200 °C. We studied the wear characteristics of AZ91D alloy as a function of the normal load and the ambient temperature. The mild-to-severe wear transition occurred with increasing the load and the critical load reduced with the ambient temperature rising. However, no matter how high the ambient temperature was in the range of 25–200 °C, the mild wear prevailed under the lower loads. Especially, the AZ91D alloy presented a lower wear rate at 200 °C than at 25 and 100 °C under the low loads of 12.5–25 N, but vice versa under the loads of more than 25 N. These phenomena seem to be contradictory to the popular view that the mild-to-severe wear transition is controlled by the critical surface temperature. These may be attributed to a thick and hard mechanical mixing layer (MML) containing the mixture of MgAl₂O₄ and Mg on the worn surface. The MML thickened with increasing the ambient temperature (under the low loads), effectively reduced wear and markedly elevated the critical surface temperature. The oxidative wear and delamination wear successively predominated in the mild wear regime; the gross plastic-induced wear would prevail in the severe wear regime.     

Microstructural and Tribological Properties of A356 Al–Si Alloy Reinforced with Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> Particles

In the present study, the effect of the Al₂O₃ particles (average size of 12 μm, 3 and 10 wt.%) reinforcement on the microstructure and tribological properties of Al–Si alloy (A356) was investigated. Composites were produced by applying compocasting process. Tribological properties of unreinforced alloy and composites were studied, using pin-on-disc tribometer, under dry sliding conditions at different specific loads and sliding speed of 1 m/s. Microhardness measurements, optical microscope and scanning electron microscope were used for microstructural characterization and investigation of worn surfaces and wear debris. During compocasting of A356 alloy, a transformation from a typical dendritic primary α phase to a non-dendritic rosette-like structure occurred. Composites exhibited better wear resistance compared with unreinforced alloy. Presence of 3 wt.% Al₂O₃ particles in the composite material affected the wear resistance only at specific loads up to 1 MPa. The wear rate of composite with 10 wt.% Al₂O₃ particles was nearly two order of the magnitude lower than the wear rate of the matrix alloy. Dominant wear mechanism for all materials was adhesion, with others mechanisms: oxidation, abrasion and delamination as minor ones.     

Wear characteristics of a diffusion bonded sintered steel with short term surface treatments

A pin on disc machine was used to investigate the tribological behavior of a diffusion bonded sintered steel, with and without surface treatments of steam oxidation and manganese phosphating, over a wide range of speed (0.2–4 m/s) and applied load (4–500 N) in conditions of dry sliding and starved lubrication by oil impregnation of the porous structure of the materials. Besides the calculated wear rates, the wear mechanisms were determined by examination of the components of the rubbing system (sintered pin, disc and generated debris). A transition from a mild to a severe wear regime was identified, denoted by sharp changes of the wear rate. A transient wear regime, interposed between the mild and severe wear regimes, was detected. The rubbing surface quality degradation was in terms of material displacement around the pin circumference due to a delamination wear mechanism. Such regime was detected for the base sintered steel in dry sliding at 1 m/s for the load range 60–80 N and for both surface treatments in oil impregnated sliding at 0.5 m/s for the load range 200–300 N. Oil impregnation of the base sintered steel expanded the mild wear regime towards higher loads throughout the whole sliding speed range compared to dry sliding. For the lower speeds of 0.2 and 0.5 m/s, manganese phosphated samples in dry sliding exhibited higher transition loads compared to the base sintered steel. The lower oil impregnability of the surface treated samples, due to the sealing of porosity by steam oxidation, led to slightly lower transition loads in oil impregnated sliding, compared to the base sintered steel.     

WC颗粒增强镍基合金喷熔层腐蚀磨损行为及其人工神经网络预测分析

采用氧一乙炔焰喷熔工艺制备了碳化钨（WC）颗粒增强镍基合金喷熔层,研究了它的腐蚀磨损行为。结果表明：喷熔层耐腐蚀磨损性能随WC含量增加而提高,WC含量在20％～30％范围内,喷熔层耐腐蚀磨损性能最佳,超过30％时,其耐腐蚀磨损性能下降。载荷增加,腐蚀磨损率增大;速度增加,腐蚀磨损率下降。低速重载荷时,WC颗粒增强效果明显,且含30％WC喷熔层耐腐蚀磨损性能最好;高速轻载荷时,因WC原电池效应显著,WC颗粒增强效果减弱。基于人工神经网络的喷熔层腐蚀磨损行为预测与实验结果吻合较好,对喷熔层的应用具有重要指导作用。     

The Tribological Behavior of a Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb Alloy Under Liquid Paraffine Lubrication

The tribological behavior of a Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy prepared by hot-pressed sintering was investigated under liquid paraffine lubrication against AISI 52100 steel ball in ambient environment and at varying loads and sliding speeds. For comparison, the tribological behavior of a common Ti-6Al-4V alloy was also examined under the same testing conditions. The worn surfaces of the two alloys were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. The friction coefficient of the Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy in the range of 0.13–0.18 was significantly lower than that of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy (0.4–0.5), but comparable to that under dry sliding, which indicated that TiAl intermetallics could be more effectively lubricated by liquid paraffine than titanium alloys. Applied load and sliding speed have little effect on the friction coefficient of the Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy. The wear rate of the Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy was about 45–120 times lower than that of Ti-6Al-4V alloy owing to Ti-6Al-4V alloy could not be lubricated effectively. The wear rate of the Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy increased with increasing applied load, but decreased slightly at first and then increased with increasing sliding speed. The wear mechanism of the Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb intermetallics under liquid paraffine lubrication was dominated by main plowing and slight flaking-off, but that of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy was plastic deformation and severe delamination.     

The effect of substrate properties on tribological behaviour of composite DLC coatings

The unique features of DLC coatings in providing low friction and low wear and, at the same time, causing low wear to the counterface make them very attractive in industrial applications, in improving tribological performance of mechanical components on various substrates. In this study, composite DLC coatings have been deposited on sintered ferrous alloy, M42 tool steel, 2618 aluminium alloy, and 6063 aluminium extrusion substrates using the combined CFUBMS–PACVD technique. The effect of mechanical properties of substrate materials on tribological behaviour of the composite DLC coatings has been investigated at various loads on a ball-on-disk wear machine in dry air. A transition load was usually observed for coatings on the various substrates except for the aluminium extrusion; above the transition load the coating was completely destroyed via some spallation/fragmentation process after 2 h sliding, and the wear rate increased dramatically with further increase in load. The coating system on sintered ferrous alloy substrate exhibited the highest transition load among the four types of substrates studied. This is considered to have resulted from the combined effects of the lower elastic modulus of the porous sintered ferrous alloy substrate, which decreases the stress concentrations in the contact region, and the surface roughness and porosity, which enhance the bonding strength between the coating and the substrate under multi-contact conditions. The high elastic modulus of the tool steel substrate leads to tensile stress conditions in the sliding contact region and therefore makes coatings deposited on such a substrate more prone to breakdown/fragmentation, resulting in a transition load close to that for coatings on the soft 2618 aluminium alloy substrate. For coatings on the 6063 aluminium extrusion substrate, significant plastic deformation occurred in the substrate at loads above 1.5 N. However, despite the heavy deformation in the substrate, coatings on this substrate were not scraped off, as were coatings on the 2618 aluminium alloy substrate, even at a load as high as 20 N. The specific wear rate increased continuously with load, no apparent transition load being explicitly identifiable. This study shows that hard DLC coatings can be applied on both hard and soft substrates for improvement of the tribological behaviour of mechanical components.     

腐蚀介质条件下NiCrBSi/WC喷熔层的摩擦学性能研究

采用氧-乙炔火焰喷熔工艺,制备了碳化钨颗粒增强镍基合金喷熔层(NiCrBSi/WC),研究了它在腐蚀介质条件下的摩擦磨损行为与机理,并考察了载荷、滑动速度对其摩擦磨损性能的影响规律。研究结果表明:NiCrBSi/WC具有良好的耐腐蚀磨损性能,且当WC含量为20%时,腐蚀磨损率最低;WC含量超过20%后,由于喷熔层存在“腐蚀原电池”效应,其腐蚀磨损率增大。NiCrBSi/WC的腐蚀磨损率随载荷增加而变大,随速度增大而减小。载荷的增加使喷熔层的犁削磨损加剧,导致摩擦系数和磨损率增大;速度的增大造成摩擦界面温度上升,可生成摩擦转移膜,从而降低了喷熔层的磨损率。     

Wear characteristics of HSLA steel

HSLA steel being a promising material in numerous applications, was subjected to wear studies under dry sliding conditions at varying conditions of loads and sliding speeds. Wear debris were extensively studied under optical, stereo- and scanning electron microscopes and also by X-ray diffraction. In order to understand the wear mechanism, wear tracks were examined under optical and scanning electron microscopes. In addition, depth of strain hardened zone below sliding surface was measured under different conditions of loads. This study showed that wear rate initially increased either with increased load or sliding speed and debris generated was a mixture of oxide and metal powders, but after attaining a peak in wear rate, a decreasing trend was observed for load as well as sliding speed studied. This decreasing trend has been attained due to domination of oxidation process as a result of rise in temperature at higher values of loads and sliding speeds. These oxides formed with temperature rise covered the wear tracks and wear rate decreased. Finally, depth of strain hardened zone beneath the sliding surface was observed to increase with load.