Wear behaviour of aluminium matrix composite materials

Abstract

Wear behaviour of aluminium matrix composites is characterized by the dry spindle wear test under various conditions (volume fractions of reinforcements, sliding distances and speeds). Wear resistance of composites is improved due to the presence of reinforcements, but no noticeable improvements are observed in the wear resistance with more than 20% addition of reinforcements. To analyse wear mechanisms, wear surfaces are examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The major wear mechanisms of discontinuous metal matrix composites (MMC)s are strongly dependent on sliding speeds. Dominant mechanism is the adhesive-abrasive wear at low and intermediate sliding speeds, and melt wear at high sliding speeds. Weight loss is linearly increased with the sliding distance. The effect of reinforcements' orientations on wear behaviours is also discussed.