Abstract
Due to their light weight, high corrosion resistance and good heat conductivity, aluminium alloys are used in many industries today. They are suitable for manufacturing many automotive components such as clutch housings. These alloys can be fabricated by powder metallurgy and casting methods, in which porosity is a common feature. The presence of pores is responsible for reducing their strength, ductility and wear resistance. The present study aims to establish an understanding of the tribological behavior of high pressure die cast Al A380M and powder metallurgy synthesized Al 6061. In this study, dry sliding wear behavior of Al A380M and Al 6061 alloys was investigated under low loads (1.5 N – 5 N) against AISI 52100 bearing steel ball using a reciprocating ball-on-flat configuration and frequency of 10 Hz. Wear mechanisms were studied through microscopic examination of the wear tracks. This study revealed that due to combined effect of real area of contact and subsurface cracking, wear rate increased with increasing porosity content. The difference in friction and wear behavior between received Al A380M and Al 6061 is attributed to their hardness differences.
Highlights
In automotive applications, aluminium is an attractive alternative to ferrous alloys due to its high strength to weight ratio and high thermal conductivity
The wear response of aluminium alloys significantly depends on their microstructure such as nature, size, shape and distribution of micro-constituents [3]
Experiments performed by Deshpande and Lin [36] reported that porosity in materials decreased their wear resistance due to the no-load bearing characteristics of pores on the wear surface
Summary
Aluminium is an attractive alternative to ferrous alloys due to its high strength to weight ratio and high thermal conductivity. Experiments performed by Deshpande and Lin [36] reported that porosity in materials decreased their wear resistance due to the no-load bearing characteristics of pores on the wear surface. They explained that depending on pore geometry and distribution, wear resistance vary and may promote severe wear. The effect of porosity on the wear and friction of metals has been studied by Vardavoulias et al [38] and they suggested that the pores enhanced surface roughness of the materials, decreased the real area of contact between two sliding surfaces and increased the contact pressure and promote particle detachment during sliding. A series of reciprocating wear tests were conducted under different loads and wear mechanisms were identified
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