Journal of Applied Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

A Comparative Study on Wear Behavior of Al6061-6% SiC and Al606 1- 6% Graphite Composites

Nagaral M, Auradi V, Parashivamurthy KI, and Kori SA

This work investigated the influence of SiC and graphite on the microstructure and wear behavior of Al6061- SiC and Al6061-Graphite composites. The investigation reveals the effectiveness of incorporation of SiC and Graphite in the Al6061 alloy for studying wear properties. The composites were fabricated using liquid metallurgy route. The Al6061- SiC and Al6061-Graphite composites were fabricated separately by introducing 6 wt. % of SiC and graphite particulates by two stage melt stirring process. In this reinforcement particulates were added in two steps to increase the wettability. The characterization was performed through Scanning Electron Microscope and Energy Dispersive Spectrum. The particle distribution was uniform in these composites. Pin on disc apparatus was used to conduct the dry sliding wear tests. The experiments were conducted by varying loads and sliding speeds for sliding distance of 2000 m. The results revealed that Al6061-6% SiC and Al6061-6% Graphite composites were shown more resistance to wear. Al6061-6% Graphite composites were shown more resistance to wear as compared to Al6061-6% SiC composites. Further, the volumetric wear loss was found to increase with the load and sliding speed for all materials. Worn surface analysis made by using scanning electron micrographs to know various mechanisms involved in the wear process.