Effect of Stainless Steel Powder as Reinforcement on Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Stir Cast Zn-Al Alloy

Abstract

In this study, Zn-40Al alloy is reinforced with 310 stainless steel particle of size 45 μm and its effect on tensile strength, hardness and wear rate were investigated. The Zn-40Al- SS composites were fabricated with 310 tainless steel particle of 3, 6, and 9 wt. % of volume fractions using stir casting technique. Tensile strength and vickers microhardness were tested for the base alloy and for the various combinations of Zn-40Al-SS composite. Dry sliding wear test using Pin-on-Disc machine were carried out for the base alloy and for all the combinations of the composites. Characterization techniques like optical microscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and elemental distribution by energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) were carried out to analyse the composite. The tensile strength and hardness were high for the reinforcement of 9 wt. %. Also the wear resistance was maximum for the reinforcement of 9 wt. %. The microstructure shows the fine uniform dispersion of the reinforcing particles over the entire matrix. Overall the composite shows a significant improvement in the wear resistance and mechanical properties.