Investigation of mechanical properties of Cu/Mo-SiCp composites produced with P/M, and their wear behaviour with the Taguchi method

Abstract

In this study, metal matrix composite materials were produced by adding 0, 5, 10, and 15 wt% Mo and SiCp powder particles into the Cu main matrix. Powder metallurgy processes were used as the production methods. These metal matrix composites were produced using a simple mixing method. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the surface morphology of the composites in different proportions. Density and hardness tests of the produced composite materials were performed. Taguchi's L16 orthogonal array experimental design was used to describe the wear experiments. The parameters that affected the wear performance the most were determined. The highest relative density value was recorded as 89.18%. Significant increases in hardness (77.038 HRB) occurred in direct proportion to the increase of Mo and SiCp powder particles. As a result of the wear tests, specific wear rate values of the obtained composite materials were determined. According to the optimised results, A4B3C3D2E2F2 (optimum) equation was obtained and the specific wear rate value was determined as 1.18642 × 10−7 mm3/Nm. Also it was found that the reinforcement ratios were relatively more effective compared to the other parameters.