Wear Studies on Nano Silicon Carbide Particle Strengthened AZ31 Magnesium Nano Surface Composites Developed via Friction Stir Processing

Abstract

This article evaluates the impact of nano silicon carbide (nSiC) addition (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 wt.%) on the surface of AZ31 magnesium alloy towards improvement in wear resistance for different applied load (AL) and sliding distance (SD). Friction stir processing (FSP) is performed on the surface of AZ31 to create a weld pool to disperse the nSiC particles utilizing a cylindrical tool in a computerized controlled machine tool. The study objective is to enhance the wear resilience of the lightweight soft AZ31 through this procedure. The G99 standard of ASTM was adopted for performing the experimentations. nSiC added to the surface lowers the wear rate (WR) of the FSPed specimens subjected to different AL and SD. The coefficient of friction (CoF) and WR tend to drop with the inclusion of nSiC till 3 wt.% above which a negative trend is observed due to the improper bonding and agglomeration of nSiC particles that impart lesser strength and hardness on the surface. As compared with an AL of 10 N, the AL of 50 N produces a 171.43% higher WR for as received alloy, for AZ31+3%nSiC, the WL is increased by 337.5% whereas the CoF is increased by 14.93% for as received alloy and 15.15% for AZ31+3%nSiC composite. Similarly, increasing the SD from 250 to 1250m, the WR is doubled for as received alloy and 181.82% for AZ31+3%nSiC, the CoF is increased by 0.41%.