Abstract
The present study considers an experimental study of tribological performance of Al-7.5% SiCp metal matrix composite and optimization of tribological testing parameters based on the Taguchi method coupled with grey relational analysis. A grey relational grade obtained from grey relational analysis is used as a performance index to study the behaviour of Al-7.5% SiCp MMC with respect to friction and wear characteristics. The tribological experiments are carried out by utilizing the combinations of tribological test parameters based on the L27 Taguchi orthogonal design with three test parameters, namely, load, speed, and time. The material Al-7.5% SiCp metal matrix composite is developed by reinforcing LM6 aluminium alloy with 7.5% (by weight) SiC particle of 400 mesh size (~37 μm) in an electric melting furnace. It is observed that sliding time has a significant contribution in controlling the friction and wear behaviour of Al-7.5% SiCp MMC. Furthermore, all the interactions between the parameters have significant influence on tribological performance. A confirmation test is also carried out to verify the accuracy of the results obtained through the optimization problem. In addition, a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) test is performed on the wear tracks to study the wear mechanism.
Highlights
IntroductionMetal matrix composites have gained popularity for use in industrial applications
In recent years, metal matrix composites have gained popularity for use in industrial applications
From the analysis of variance (ANOVA) table, it is seen that parameter T, that is, time, is the most significant parameter influencing the tribological behaviour at the confidence level of 99%, while parameters L and S are significant at the confidence level of 95%
Summary
Metal matrix composites have gained popularity for use in industrial applications. The metal matrix composites have become increasingly desirable to engineers, largely due to improved toughness, strength, and stiffness properties offered by these materials relative to the unreinforced base metals. Light metals such as aluminium, magnesium, and their alloys have received the commercial recognition due to their relatively low cost and easy processing. Aluminium based composites have shown performance improvements in a variety of applications requiring high strength, low mass, and tailored thermal properties. Many researchers have studied the friction and wear behaviour of Al based composites. The effect of heat treatment [13, 14] and temperature change [15] is studied by some researchers
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