Effect of Boron Carbide on wear resistance of graphite containing Al7029 Based Hybrid Composites and its Dry Sliding Wear Characterization through Experimental, Response Surface Method and ANOVA

Abstract

Composites are often chosen for tribological applications due to its tailored material properties. The development of hybrid metal matrix composites and the study of their wear behavior has been a prominent focus of materials science research. Present paper deals with fabrication of Al-7029/B4C/Gr hybrid composite using stir casting. Particle distribution and material phase are identified by SEM and XRD. Hardness of the composite increased to 101 BHN while base alloy with 63 BHN. Pin-on-disc Tribometer used to carry wear test and the experimentation conducted by considering three input wear control parameters: 15–35 N (load), 1.5–3.5 m/s (speed) and 200–600 m (distance). Addition of 6%B4C/3%Gr, wear rate of hybrid composites reduced. ANOVA confirmed that load as the most influencing parameter on wear rate. RSM results correlates with mean effect plots of ANOVA and experiments and found that the results are in good compliance. SEM graphs of worn surface confirms that more wear occurred with increased load.