Wear behaviour of Al-SiC metal matrix composite under lubricated environment

Abstract

The present study investigates the wear behaviour of silicon carbide based aluminium metal matrix composite under lubricated environment. The composite reinforced with 2.5% SiC by weight was prepared through stir casting method. The experiments were conducted on a pin on disc type tribotester under lubricated condition using five levels of load and sliding velocity varying from 10 N to 90 N and 0.26 m/s to 0.78 m/s respectively. The experiments were carried out based on the combination available in Taguchi's L25 orthogonal array (OA). Then the effect of design factors on wear rate was investigated. Taguchi's method was implemented to find the optimal parameter combination. Statistical analysis was made to find out the relative influence of design factors on wear rate. Finally, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was carried out to determine the wear mechanisms.