A Comparative Study on the Dry Sliding Wear Behavior of Mild Steel and 6061Al-15wt.%SiCp Composite

Abstract

Alumina-steel sliding contacts are often encountered in industrial applications. Aluminum metal matrix composite (AlMMC) is considered as a suitable replacement for ferrous materials. However, Alumina-steel/AlMMC tribological system has not been readily investigated. Accordingly, in this research work, the dry sliding wear characteristic of 6061Al-15wt.%SiCp composite and mild steel against an alumina disk is investigated and compared at three loads (10, 30, and 50 N). In mild steel, the wear mechanism envisages a mild adhesive wear at low load (10 N), while abrasive wear and oxidative wear at higher loads (30 and 50 N). The overall wear rate linearly increased with increasing load. In 6061Al-15wt.%SiCp composite, at all loads, the basic wear mechanism involves abrasive wear with de-bonding of SiC particles and oxidative wear. A non-linear relationship between wear rate and load indicates higher severity of wear loss. Particularly at higher load, the 6061Al-15wt.%SiCp composite suffers from extensive wear loss (26 times higher wear rate at 50 N load) as compared to mild steel. This indicates the unsuitability of using 6061Al-15wt.%SiCp composite as a replacement for mild steel under severe abrasive wear situation. The higher wear severity of 6061Al-15wt.%SiCp composite is attributed to the following: (i) de-bonding of reinforcement (SiC) particles reducing the material strength and subsequent removal of matrix material by micro-chipping mechanism; and (ii) an intense oxidation of 6061Al matrix under frictional heat and subsequent removal of oxide layer.