Sliding wear behaviour of Al-Si-Cu composites reinforced with SiC particles

Abstract

The sliding wear behaviours of an unreinforced monolithic Al-Si-Cu alloy and SiC particles reinforced composites containing 5, 13, 38 and 50 vol.-% with diameters of 5.5, 11.5 and 57μm were investigated. The results showed that the wear resistance of the composites is much higher than the monolithic alloy, and the larger and the more SiC particles, the higher the enhancement of the wear resistance. Metallographic examinations revealed that the subsurface of worn composites was composed of both fragmented particles and deformed matrix alloy. The depth of the particle fracture zone in the subsurface varied in the range of 20-35 μm at a sliding distance of 1.8 km, while the plastic deformation zone of the worn subsurface on monolithic alloy was more than 100 μm. Scanning electron microanalyses of the worn surface, subsurface microstructure and debris suggested that the depth of the particle fracture zone became smaller as the diameter of SiC particles increased. Increasing the hardness and decreasing the applied wear stress changed the debris morphology from flake to very small lumps.     

Effect of the SiC particle size on the dry sliding wear behavior of SiC and SiC–Gr-reinforced Al6061 composites

The effect of size of silicon carbide particles on the dry sliding wear properties of composites with three different sized SiC particles (19, 93, and 146 μm) has been studied. Wear behavior of Al6061/10 vol% SiC and Al6061/10 vol% SiC/5 vol% graphite composites processed by in situ powder metallurgy technique has been investigated using a pin-on-disk wear tester. The debris and wear surfaces of samples were identified using SEM. It was found that the porosity content and hardness of Al/10SiC composites decreased by 5 vol% graphite addition. The increased SiC particle size reduced the porosity, hardness, volume loss, and coefficient of friction of both types of composites. Moreover, the hybrid composites exhibited lower coefficient of friction and wear rates. The wear mechanism changed from mostly adhesive and micro-cutting in the Al/10SiC composite containing fine SiC particles to the prominently abrasive and delamination wear by increasing of SiC particle size. While the main wear mechanism for the unreinforced alloy was adhesive wear, all the hybrid composites were worn mainly by abrasion and delamination mechanisms.     

增强颗粒含量和尺寸对SiCp/Fe复合材料性能的影响

利用电流直加热动态热压烧结工艺,分别制备了增强颗粒体积含量从5%到15%,尺寸从3 μm到45 μm的SiCp/Fe复合材料,研究了粒子含量与尺寸对复合材料硬度、强度、延伸率和耐磨性能的影响.研究表明:增强颗粒的体积含量从5%提高到10%,可以明显提高材料的性能;随着增强颗粒含量进一步提高,颗粒团聚将导致材料性能降低;...     

Abrasive wear of FeCr (M7C3–M23C6) reinforced iron based metal matrix composites

Abstract

The effects of volume fraction, particle size, and sintered porosity of FeCr (M₇C₃–M₂₃C₆) particulates on the abrasive wear resistance of powder metallurgy (PM) Fe alloy metal matrix composites have been studied under different abrasive conditions. It was seen that the abrasive wear rate of the composites increased with an increase in the FeCr volume fraction in tests performed with 80 grade SiC abrasive paper, but it decreased for tests conducted with 220 grade SiC abrasive paper. Furthermore, the wear rates decreased with an increase in FeCr size for composites containing the same amount of FeCr. Hence it is deduced that Fe alloy composites reinforced with larger size FeCr particles are more effective against abrasive wear than those reinforced with smaller ones. At the same time the results show that the beneficial effects of hard FeCr particulates on wear resistance far outweighed the detrimental effects of sintered porosity in the PM metal matrix composites. In addition, the fabrication of composites containing soft particles such as graphite or copper favours a reduction in the coefficient of friction, and increases the matrix hardness of the composite. For this reason graphite and copper were used in the matrix in different amounts to test their effect on the wear resistance. Increase in graphite and copper volume fraction allowed the formation of additional phases, which had high hardness and wear resistance. It was also found that the wear rate of the composites decreased considerably with graphite and copper addition.     

Investigation of the low-speed impact behavior of dual particle size metal matrix composites

SiC-reinforced aluminum matrix composites were manufactured by powder metallurgy using either single or dual particle sized SiC powders and samples sintered under argon atmosphere. Quasi-static loading, low-speed impact tests and hardness tests were used to investigate mechanical behavior and found that dual particle size composites had improved hardness and impact performance compared to single particle size composites. Sample microstructure, particle distributions, plastic deformations and post-testing damages were examined by scanning electron microscopy and identified microstructure agglomerations in SPS composites. Impact traces were characterized by broken and missing SiC particles and plastically deformed composite areas.     

Sliding wear behaviour of SiC particle reinforced 2024 aluminium alloy composites

Abstract

Sliding wear tests on SiC particle reinforced 2024 aluminium alloy composites fabricated by a powder metallurgy technique were carried out, and the effects of SiC particle content, size, and the wear load on the wear properties of the composites were systematically investigated. It was found that the wear resistance of the composites was about two orders of magnitude superior to that of the unreinforced matrix alloy, and increased with increasing SiC particle content and size. Under the conditions of sliding wear used, the effect of SiC particle size on the wear resistance was more significant than that of particle content.

MST/3161     

Investigating effects of process parameters on microstructural and mechanical properties of Al5052/SiC metal matrix composite fabricated via friction stir processing

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a novel process for refinement of microstructure, improvement of material’s mechanical properties and production of surface layer composites. In this investigation via friction stir processing, metal matrix composite (MMC) was fabricated on surface of 5052 aluminum sheets by means of 5 μm and 50 nm SiC particles. Influence of tool rotational speed, traverse speed, number of FSP passes, shift of rotational direction between passes and particle size was studied on distribution of SiC particles in metal matrix, microstructure, microhardness and wear properties of specimens. Optimum of tool rotational and traverse speed for achieving desired powder dispersion in MMC was found. Results show that change of tool rotational direction between FSP passes, increase in number of passes and decrease of SiC particles size enhance hardness and wear properties.     

Rheological behaviour and fluidity of SiCp+AZ91HP magnesium composites

Abstract

Rotating cylinder viscosity and spiral fluidity experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of SiC particle fraction and size and casting temperature on the viscosity and the fluidity of Mg–8.2Al–0.7Zn (wt-%)alloy containing up to 10 vol.-%SiC particles. The rotating cylinder viscosity (process based viscosity) was deduced from the data measured by a power measurement system during the actual composite manufacturing by the rotating cylinder method, and the fluidity was measured using a specially designed spiral fluidity mould. The spiral fluidity, which is the reciprocal of viscosity, decreased with increasing SiC particle fraction (for a given size) and with decreasing SiC particle size (for a given volume fraction). Although the decrease in the fluidity of the composite slurry was observed due to the expected increase in the viscosity by the presence of SiC particles, the results showed that the fluidity of the composite slurry with 10 vol.-% 50 µm SiC particles was adequate to make a variety of castings at 680°C.     

金刚石颗粒弥散WC-Co复合物的烧结及其韧化

采用放电等离子烧结(SPS)方法制备了金刚石颗粒(平均粒径为12μm、25μm 及50μm)以20 ％的体积比弥散WC-10 wt％Co硬质合金的致密复合物,为防止金刚石颗粒的氧化和石墨化,用高温化学反应方法在其表面生成了一层牢固结合的纳米尺寸的碳化硅保护膜。所得烧结体的相对密度均可达到98％。弥散金刚石颗粒基本保持了基体的高硬度,但是使复合物的断裂韧性得到了显著提高,金刚石粒度为50μm时,韧性高达17.8MPa·m1/2。沿金刚石颗粒周围可以清晰地观察到裂纹偏转及停止现象。金刚石粒度的变化对力学性能的影响不很明显。      

Effect of SiC content on the processing, compaction behavior, and properties of Al6061/SiC/Gr hybrid composites

Aluminum matrix composites reinforced with SiC and graphite (Gr) particles are a unique class of advanced engineered materials that have been developed to use in tribological applications. The conventional techniques for producing these composites have some drawbacks. In this study, a new method, namely In situ Powder Metallurgy (IPM), is applied for the preparation of Al6061/SiC/Gr hybrid composites. In this method, the stir casting and the powder metallurgy synthesizing processes are combined into an integrated net shape forming process. 0?C40 vol.% of SiC particles with an average size of 19 ??m, along with 9 vol.% of uncoated Gr particles, were introduced to the molten 6061 aluminum alloy. Then, the slurries were stirred in a specified time?Ctemperature regime resulting in mixtures of the SiC, Gr, and aluminum powder particles. The powder mixtures were cold pressed in six different pressures (between 250 and 750 MPa) and sintered. Finally, the produced composites were heat treated and their hardness and wear properties were investigated. Homogenous distribution of the SiC and Gr particles within the powder mixtures and the hybrid composites is clear from the SEM images. The results also show that the SiC particles decrease the compressibility of the hybrid powders and improve the hardness of composites. The best wear resistance is achieved in the hybrid composite containing 20 vol.% SiC particles.     

Effects of particle size and distribution on the mechanical properties of SiC reinforced Al-Cu alloy composites

This paper studied the combined effects of particle size and distribution on the mechanical properties of the SiC particle reinforced Al-Cu alloy composites. It has been shown that small ratio between matrix/reinforcement particle sizes resulted in more uniform distribution of the SiC particles in the matrix. The SiC particles distributed more uniformly in the matrix with increasing in mixing time. It has also been shown that homogenous distribution of the SiC particles resulted in higher yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation. Yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the composite reinforced by 4.7 μm sized SiC particles are higher than those of composite reinforced by 77 μm sized SiC particles, while the elongation shows opposite trend with yield strength and ultimate tensile strength. Fracture surface observations showed that the dominant fracture mechanism of the composites with small SiC particle size (4.7 μm) is ductile fracture of the matrix, accompanied by the “pull-out” of the particles from the matrix, while the dominant fracture mechanism of the composites with large SiC particle size (77 μm) is ductile fracture of the matrix, accompanied by the SiC particle fracture.     

Aging and wear resistant characterization of al-5Mg-X(Si, Cu, Ti)/SiCp composites produced by pressureless infiltration method

The effects of SiC particle size and alloy elements such as Si, Cu and Ti on the response to aging treatment and wear resistance in Al-5Mg-X(Si,Cu,Ti)/SiCp composites fabricated by pressureless infiltration method have been investigated by hardness tester, scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wear tester. The Al-5Mg-0.3Si-0.1Cu-0.1Ti/SiC_P composites had better wear resistance property among Al-5Mg-X(Si,Cu)/SiC_P composites. The wear resistance property of all the composites was enhanced after aging at 170°C for 8 hrs due to precipitates of '(Mg₂Si) phase. The wear resistance property of the composite as-fabricated with 50 m size of SiC particle is superior to that of the composite as-fabricated with 100 m SiC size of particle. In Al-5%Mg alloy aged at 170°C for 8 hrs, the frictional seizure appeared more than abrading speed of 1.90 m/s, but in Al-5Mg-(Si,Cu,Ti)/SiC_P composites aged at 170°C for 8 hrs, the frictional seizure was not found at abrading speed ranging from 0.5 m/s to 4.3 m/s.     

Preparation and some properties of SiC particle reinforced aluminium alloy composites

Aluminium alloy composites containing various particle sizes of 10 and 20 wt.% SiC particles were prepared by molten metal mixing and squeeze casting method under argon gas. The stirring was carried out with graphite impeller during addition of particle. The molten mixture was poured into a die when the stirring was completed and metal matrix composites were produced by applying the pressure. Optical microscopic examination, hardness, density and porosity measurement were carried out. Moreover, metal matrix composites were machined at various cutting speeds under a fixed depth of cut and feed rate using different cutting tools. It is observed that there was a reasonably uniform dispersion of particles in the matrix alloy. The density decreased with decreasing particle sizes, but porosity decreased considerably with increasing particle size. In addition, the tool life decreased considerably with increasing cutting speeds for all tests. Among cutting tools, the wear resistance of Al₂O₃ coated tools showed better performance than those of the other tools without chip breaker geometries in the machining of SiCp-reinforced composites.     

Production and properties of SiCp-reinforced aluminium alloy composites

A vacuum infiltration process was developed to produce aluminium alloy composites containing various volume fractions of ceramic particles. The matrix composites of aluminium with 9.42 wt%Si and 0.36 wt%Mg containing up to 55 vol% SiCp were successfully infiltrated and the effect of infiltration temperature and volume fraction of particle on infiltration behaviour was investigated. In addition to aluminium powder, magnesium was used to improve the wetting of SiC particles by the molten aluminium alloy. The infiltration rate increased with increasing infiltration time, temperature and volume fraction of particle, but full infiltration appeared at the optimum process parameters for the various volumes of fraction composite compacts. In addition, the microstructure, hardness, density, porosity and wear resistance of the composites were also examined. It is observed that the distribution of SiC particles was uniform. The hardness and density of the composite increased with increasing reinforcement volume fraction and porosity decreased with increasing particle content. Moreover, the wear rate of the composite increased with increasing load and decreased with increasing particle content.     

Dry wear properties of A356-SiC particle reinforced MMCs produced by two melting routes

SiC particle reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) were produced by a common liquid phase technique in two melting routes. In the first route, 5, 10, 15 and 20 vol% SiC reinforced A356-based MMCs were produced. In the second route, an Alcan A356 + 20 vol% SiC composite was diluted to obtain 5, 10, 15 and 20 vol% SiC MMCs. In both cases the average particle size was 12 μm. The composites that produced by two different routes were aimed to compare the dry wear resistance properties. A dry ball-on disk wear test was carried out for both groups of MMCs and their matrix materials. The tests were performed against a WC ball, 4.6 mm in diameter, at room temperature and in laboratory air conditions with a relative humidity of 40–60%. Sliding speed was chosen as 0.4 m/s and normal loads of 1, 2, 3 and 5 N were employed. The sliding distance was kept at 1000 m. The wear damage on the specimens was evaluated via measurement of wear depth and diameter. A complete wear microstructural characterization was carried out via scanning electron microscopy. The wear behaviors were recorded nearly similar for both groups of composites. Diluted samples showed lower friction coefficient values compared with the friction coefficient values of the vortex-produced composites. This was attributed poor bonding between matrix and particles in the vortex-produced composites associated with high porosities. But, in general, diluted Alcan composites showed slightly lower wear rate relationship with the particle volume percent and applied load when compared with vortex produced materials.     

Characteristics of electrocodeposited Ni-Co-SiC composite coating

Electrodeposited composites are gaining importance for their advantages including low cost, ease and simplicity of operation to tailor made coatings for tribological applications. Generally, composites containing carbides (like SiC) are preferred for high wear resistance along with increased hardness, improved corrosion resistance, and high temperature oxidation resistance as compared to alloy and pure metal electroplating. In the present work, electrolytic codeposition technique was adopted in the deposition of Ni-Co-SiC composite coating on mild steel substrate, using nickel alloyed with cobalt as the binder phase with SiC as dispersed particles. To improve the properties of coating further, Cr plating was also performed. Since the particle size and volume percent variation of dispersoid have great importance in codeposition, so the effect of these two variables on the process of codeposition and properties was observed. Morphological studies of Ni-Co-SiC coating were carried out with scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis to correlate the mechanical and corrosion behaviour of the coating.     

Rotating cylinder manufacturing method and investment casting of SiCp/AZ91HP magnesium composites

Abstract

This paper describes the rotating cylinder method for manufacturing, and investment casting for forming, composite slurry. Microstructural features, such as SiC particle distribution and grain refinement of the as cast composites, were investigated. Also the effect of SiC particle fraction and size, and process parameters on the microstructure and the mechanical properties are discussed. Attempts were made to evaluate the thermal stability of oxides against molten AZ91HP magnesium alloy. The oxides examined included CaO, CaZrO₃, and silica bonded Al₂O₃ and zircon flour. Finally, the tensile properties, hardness, and wear resistance of the as cast composites were evaluated and the results are compared with those of the as cast alloy.     

Wear characteristics of TiC reinforced cast iron composites Part 2 – Abrasive wear

Abstract

The presence of carbide particles in metal matrix composites improves abrasive wear resistance properties. Abrasive wear characteristics of TiC reinforced cast iron composites have been investigated. The TiC particle size and distribution influence the wear properties of the composites. TiC reinforced cast iron composites possess better wear resistance properties than those of chromium cast irons with and without nitrogen.     

Effect of SiC particle size on the physical and mechanical properties of extruded Al matrix nanocomposites

In this work, the effect of SiC particle size and its amount on both physical and mechanical properties of Al matrix composite were investigated. SiC of particle size 70 nm, 10 μm and 40 μm, and Al powder of particle size 60 μm were used. Composites of Al with 5 and 10 wt.% SiC were fabricated by powder metallurgy technique followed by hot extrusion. Phase composition and microstructure were characterized. Relative density, thermal conductivity, hardness and compression strength were studied. The results showed that the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that the dominant components were Al and SiC. Densification and thermal conductivity of the composites decreased with increasing the amount of SiC and increased with increasing SiC particle size. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies showed that the distribution of the reinforced particle was uniform. Increasing the amount of SiC leads to higher hardness and consequently improves the compressive strength of Al–SiC composite. Moreover, as the SiC particle size decreases, hardness and compressive strength increase. The use of fine SiC particles has a similar effect on both hardness and compressive strength.     

多粒径TiB2颗粒增强铜基复合材料的制备与载流摩擦磨损性能

采用粉末冶金工艺分别制备了单一粒径TiB₂颗粒和多粒径TiB₂颗粒增强铜基复合材料,对比研究了非载流和载流条件下多粒径（2 μm+50 μm）TiB₂/Cu复合材料的摩擦磨损行为。微观组织观察表明:不同粒径的TiB₂颗粒在Cu基体中分布均匀。与单一粒径TiB₂/Cu复合材料相比,多粒径TiB₂/Cu复合材料具有更高的相对密度、硬度和导电率。摩擦磨损实验结果表明:多粒径TiB₂/Cu复合材料抗摩擦磨损性能明显高于单一粒径TiB₂/Cu复合材料,当2 μm与50 μmTiB₂颗粒配比为1:2时,多粒径TiB₂/Cu复合材料的抗摩擦磨损性能最佳。相对于2 μm单一粒径TiB₂/Cu复合材料,电流为0 A时,（2 μm+50 μm）TiB₂/Cu复合材料的摩擦系数和磨损率分别降低了17.3%和62.5%;电流为25 A时,（2 μm+50 μm）TiB₂/Cu复合材料的摩擦系数和磨损率分别降低了6%和45.8%,同时载流效率和载流稳定性得到明显提高,磨损表面更加平整。磨损机制分析表明:多粒径TiB₂颗粒合理配比有利于提高复合材料载流质量,同时摩擦过程中大粒径的TiB₂颗粒起到支撑作用,小粒径的TiB₂颗粒弥散强化Cu基体,二者的协同作用使TiB₂/Cu复合材料具有更好的抗载流摩擦磨损性能。