Fabrication and tribological behaviour of mg-tio2 composites

Abstract

In the present study pure magnesium was taken as a base metal which is reinforced with various weight percentages of TiO2 (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 % wt). This is done through a vacuum stir casting route with argon as a shielding gas to prevent oxidation. The prepared samples were machined using the Electric Discharge Machining (EDM) to achieve accurate dimensions for the study of tribological properties. A computerized pin-on-disc machine is used to study the dry sliding wear behaviour of the Mg-based composites. Wear losses were calculated using a variety of load parameters (10N, 15N, 20N, and 25N), sliding velocities (1 m/s, 1.5 m/s, and 2.0 m/s) and the weight percentage of the reinforcement. The results proved that the wear loss increased with an increase in the load, and decreased with an increase in the sliding velocity. The wear resistance is improved with an increase in the percentage of reinforcements in the matrix. The morphology and distribution of reinforcements were analysed by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, respectively. The results revealed a uniform distribution of TiO2 particles throughout the magnesium matrix in the Mg-TiO2 composites.