Effect of Sliding Velocity on Wear Behavior of Magnesium Composite Reinforced with SiC and MWCNT

Abstract

This paper investigates the tribological characteristics of magnesium (Mg) composites prepared by powder metallurgy route. Attempt was made to identify the effect of filler types (i.e. micro-sized silicon carbide (SiC) particles and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)) on Vickers hardness, specific wear rate and coefficient of friction of magnesium composite. Experiment was conducted under dry sliding condition using a pin-on-disc configuration against a grey cast iron counterbody at a constant load of 40N with different sliding velocities (0.5, 1.5 and 3.5 m/s) at sliding distance of 5000 m. Throughout this work, hardness value increased with the addition of SiC and MWCNT. The coefficient of friction and specific wear rate varied with the sliding velocities, hence indicating that different wear mechanisms are taking place at different sliding velocities. The coefficient of friction at the highest sliding velocity of 3.5m/s was independent of filler types. However, the incorporation of MWCNT minimized the specific wear rate of the composite at sliding velocity of 3.5m/s.