Dry Sliding Wear Behavior of Palmyra Shell Ash–Reinforced Aluminum Matrix (AlSi10Mg) Composites

Abstract

ABSTRACTHigh strength, light weight, ease of fabrication, excellent castability, and good wear resistance make aluminum alloy composites suitable for commercial applications. In this work, a silica-rich ash particle (palmyra shell ash) was reinforced with aluminum alloy (AlSi10Mg) composites and its mechanical and tribological properties were studied. The aluminum alloy was reinforced with 3, 6, and 9 wt% of palmyra shell ash particles, and its dry sliding wear behavior was studied using a pin-on-disc machine under different loading conditions. The result shows that the dry sliding wear resistance of Al–palmyra shell ash composites was almost similar to that of fly ash– and rice husk ash–reinforced Al-alloy composites and these composites exhibit better wear resistance compared to unreinforced alloy. The palmyra shell ash particle weight fraction significantly affects the wear and friction properties of the composites. Scanning electron microscopic examination of the worn surface reveals that at various loads palmyra shell ash particles act as load-bearing constituents and the wear resistance of the reinforced palmyra shell ash with a size range of 1–50 µm was superior to that of unreinforced alloy. Mechanical properties (hardness and tensile strength) were also studied and it was observed that the reinforced Al-alloy showed a significant increase in mechanical properties.