TITLE:
Study of Wear Properties of Al-SiC Composites
AUTHORS:
Manoj Singla, Lakhvir Singh, Vikas Chawla
KEYWORDS:
Metal Matrix Composites MMC’s, Silicon Carbide SiC
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering,
Vol.8 No.10,
October
20,
2009
ABSTRACT: Al–SiC composites containing four different weight percentages 5%, 10%, 20% and 25% of SiC
have been fabricated by liquid metallurgy method. Friction and wear characteristics of Al–SiC
composites have been investigated under dry sliding conditions and compared with those
observed in pure aluminium. Dry sliding wear tests have been carried out using pin-on-disk
wear test rate normal loads of 5, 7, 9 and 11 Kgf and at constant sliding velocity of 1.0m/s.
Weight loss of samples was measured and the variation of cumulative wear loss with sliding
distance has been found to be linear for both pure aluminium and the composites. It was also
observed that the wear rate varies linearly with normal load but lower in composites as
compared to that in base material. The wear mechanism appears to be oxidative for both pure
aluminium and composites under the given conditions of load and sliding velocity as indicated
by scanning electron microscope (SEM) of the worn surfaces. Further, it was found from the
experimentation that the wear rate decreases linearly with increasing weight fraction of silicon
carbide and average coefficient of friction decreases linearly with increasing normal load and
weight fraction of SiC. The best results have been obtained at 20% weight fraction of 320 grit
size SiC particles for minimum wear.