Abstract
The present research deals with the comparative wear behavior of a mechanically milled Al-6061 alloy and the same alloy reinforced with 5 wt.% of Al2O3 nanoparticles (Al-6061-Al2O3) under different dry sliding conditions. For this purpose, an aluminum-silicon-based material was synthesized by high-energy mechanical alloying, cold consolidated, and sintered under pressureless and vacuum conditions. The mechanical behavior was evaluated by sliding wear and microhardness tests. The structural characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Results showed a clear wear resistance improvement in the aluminum matrix composite (Al-6061-Al2O3) in comparison with the Al-6061 alloy since nanoparticles act as a third hard body against wear. This behavior is attributed to the significant increment in hardness on the reinforced material, whose strengthening mechanisms mainly lie in a nanometric size and homogeneous dispersion of particles offering an effective load transfer from the matrix to the reinforcement. Discussion of the wear performance was in terms of a protective thin film oxide formation, where protective behavior decreases as a function of the sliding speed.
Highlights
The versatility of aluminum for different applications makes it an ideal structural material with high demand for aerospace, automotive, and other industries
Reddy et al [13] studied the effect of adding alumina nanoparticles in a pure aluminum matrix, combining the use of microwaves, powder metallurgy, and hot extrusion. These results indicated the importance of the dispersion method through powder metallurgy, mainly improving microstructural densification, increment in micro and nano hardness, yield strength, and ultimate strength
The analysis performed on the experimental results showed a significant improvement on the average wear rate of the aluminum matrix composite with 5 wt.% nanoparticles (Al-6061-Al2O3) compared with the aluminum base alloy without nanoparticles (Al6061)
Summary
The versatility of aluminum for different applications makes it an ideal structural material with high demand for aerospace, automotive, and other industries. Its mechanical properties are altered by adding alloying elements for the production or by incorporating reinforcing elements of different nature [1]. One of the materials with the highest consumption globally by different industries, it represents an ideal material in manufacturing various components considered for structural applications. Secondary aluminum, obtained as waste material during the machining processes of such components [2], can be recycled by techniques requiring high energy consumption and, high cost. The reprocessing of metal shavings by mechanical means represents a low-cost alternative carried out at room temperature. Combined with techniques based on powder metallurgy and mechanical alloying, it represents a low energy consumption route in producing alloys and metal matrix composites
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