Wear behavior of composites based on ZA-27 alloy reinforced by Al <inf>2</inf>O <inf>3</inf> particles under dry sliding condition

Abstract

In present study, the effect of Al 2O 3 particle reinforcement on the sliding behavior of ZA-27 alloy composites was investigated. The composites with 3, 5, and 10 wt% of Al 2O 3 particles were produced by the compocasting procedure. Tribological properties of unreinforced alloy and composite were studied, using block-on-disk tribometer under unlubricated sliding conditions at different specific loads and sliding speeds. The worn surfaces of samples were examined by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The test results revealed that those composite specimens exhibited significantly lower wear rate than the ZA-27 matrix alloy specimens in all combinations of applied loads and sliding speeds. The difference in the wear resistance of composite with respect to the matrix alloy, increased with the increase of the applied load/sliding speed and Al 2O 3 particle content. The highest degree of improvement of the ZA-27 alloy tribological behavior corresponded with change of the Al 2O 3 particles content from 3 to 5 wt%. At low sliding speed, moderate lower wear rate of the composites over that of the matrix alloy was noticed. This has been attributed to micro cracking tendency of the composites. Significantly reduced wear rate, experienced by the composite over that of the matrix alloy at the higher sliding speeds and loads, could be explained due to enhanced compatibility of matrix alloy with dispersoid phase and greater thermal stability of the composite in view of the presence of the dispersoid. Level of wear rate of tested ZA-27/Al 2O 3 samples pointed to the process of mild wear, which was primarily controlled by the formation and destruction of mechanical mixed layers (MMLs). © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.