CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW - Shodhgangashodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/57371/9/09_chapter 2.pdf · Chapter 2 Literature Review Page 17 ... [9] 6061 aluminium alloy with

Chapter 2 Literature Review Page 17

CHAPTER-2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Overview

The study of the wear behaviour of the particle reinforced aluminium matrix composite

developed using different fabrication techniques done by many researchers is discussed in this

chapter. Special emphasis is given on the studies of the development of particle reinforced

aluminium matrix composite by stir casting process as the present work is based on this process.

The study mainly focuses on the physical properties, especially wear resistance of the

composites. The work of the thesis is planned with the aim keeping in view the gap in the study,

which is presented in the last section of this chapter.


2.1 Introduction

Three decades of intensive materials research have provided a wealth of new scientific

innovation to synthesize special materials with enhanced efficiency with low manufacturing cost

to fulfill the long pending demands of the engineering sector. A new system of materials

containing hard particulates embedded in a metal matrix have exhibited superior operating

performance and improved tribological behaviors.Among MMCs, aluminium alloy based

composites had shown the significant improvement in the mechanical, thermal, electrical and

wear properties to cater the demand of the industries. Al alloys are termed as versatile materials

to be used for numerous engineering applications because of its better machining, joining and

processability. In addition to this, low cost, increased strength to weight ratio and other

environmental friendly characteristics of Al alloys make them a preferable material in

engineering applications [1].

Among the aluminium alloys, Al-Si alloy is well known casting alloy having high wear

resistance, low thermal expansion coefficient, good corrosion resistance with improved

mechanical properties over a wide range of temperatures. The grain refiner elements modify the

Si morphology from coarse to lamellar (fine), thus enhancing the mechanical properties [2].

Different researcher developed numerous composite materials by using different type of matrix,

reinforcement size, shape and volume as well as suitable processing technique depending upon

the requirement and application. In order to achieve the optimum properties of the metal matrix

composite, the distribution of the second phase in the matrix alloy must be uniform, and the

wettability or bonding between these substances should be optimized. [3].

Rao and Das [4] prepared cast aluminium-alumina composites by incorporating alumina particles

while stirring the molten alloy with an impeller. The particles were added in the molten metal

during mixing and thus the process of stir casting emerged. In addition to this mixing of non-

wetting particles into alloys was promoted by addition of alloying elements such as magnesium

during the composite synthesis. Prasad et al. [5] began the practice of introducing particles to

semi-solid alloys at a temperature between those of the solids and the liquids for the alloy.

Wear behavior of ceramic particle(s) reinforced AMCs has been studied by several workers. It

includes reinforcement of SiC, Al2O3, TiC, C, B4C, fly ash, TiB2, Al3Zr etc. either singly or in

hybrid way. The breif summary of their study has been given in table 2.1.


Table 2.1: Tabulated summary of outcomes of various investigators on the development and wear behavior study of ceramic particles reinforced AMCs.

Investigator [Year]

Materials [Matrix/Reinfor-

cement]

Process Parameter Investigated

Outcomes

Alpas and

Zhang(1992) [6]

Aluminium alloy

with 10 and 20%

SiC

Stir casting Wear rate over a load

of1-150N at different

sliding velocities

At low load, corresponding to stresses lower than the particle fracture

strength, SiC particles were the load bearing constituents and their abrasive

action successfully transferred the rich iron layer on to the contact surface.

However, wear rate of the composite was found to be lower than the

unreinforced alloy in this regime.

Above a critical load, the SiC particles got fractured and the delamination

wear was due to de-cohesion of SiC-matrix interfaces. The wear behaviour of

the composite was similar to the unreinforced matrix alloy in this regime.

With the continuous increase of load, there was an abrupt increase in wear

rate by a factor of 100. The SiC reinforcement was proved to be very

effective in suppressing the transition to severe wear regime.

Martin et al.

(1996) [7]

2618 Al alloy

reinforced with 15

vol.% SiC

Stir casting Wear resistance in the

temperature range 20–

200 °C

The addition of the SiC particulates improved the wear resistance by a factor

of two in the mild wear region, and the transition temperature was raised by

approx. 50 °C. This higher transition temperature was due to the retention of

the mechanical properties in the composite at elevated temperature.

Heat treatments (either natural or artificial aging) did not modify

substantially the wear resistance of either the composite or the unreinforced

alloy.

Wilson and Alpas

(1996) [8]

A 356 Al alloy

reinforced 20% of

Al2O3, SiC and

Stir Casting High temperature dry

sliding wear resistance

Mild to severe wear delay was observed in the composites with the addition

of Al2O3 and SiC but a hybrid A356 Al composite containing SiC and

graphite remained in a mild wear regime even at the highest test temperature


Graphite of 460°C.

The absence of severe wear phenomena in this composite contributes to the

inhibition of comminution and fracture by graphite entrained in the surface

tribolayer.

Yu et al.

(1997) [9]

6061 aluminium

alloy with 5 & 10%

SiC whiskers or SiC

particulates

High pressure

infiltration

Wear behaviour The wear rate decreased with the increase in the applied load.

Above a critical applied load, rapid increase in the wear rate led to the

transitions in wear mechanism.

The critical load decreased with temperature for both the composites.

Straffelini et al.

(1997) [10]

6061 Al alloy

reinforced with 20

Vol.% Al2O3

particles

Hot Extrusion Wear behaviour as a

function of load

The wear mechanism was abrasive and oxidative at the low loads. All

materials have shown a transition to a severe form of wear with a massive

removal of wear debris for very high applied loads of 200 N accompanied by

the plastic deformation of the surface material.

The addition of Al2O3 postponed the transition to severe wear at higher loads,

thus effectively improved the sliding wear behaviour of the composite.

Shipway et al.

(1998) [11]

Aluminium

reinforced with 10

and 20% TiC

Improved Stir

casting

MMMMM

Wear behaviour as a

function of load and

particle volume fraction

Particle additions have reduced the wear rate of the composites and hence

delayed the transition with load from low wear coefficients to high wear

coefficients.

The addition of higher amount of reinforcement resulted in a reduction in

wear rate and further led to the retardation of the load at which wear

coefficient increases.

Auida et al.

(1999) [12]

Aluminium alloy

A356 with 5%,10%

and 15% vol. SiC

Stir casting Porosity content at

different speeds

Low speed of 100rpm tempted the clustered particles to enhance the porosity

formation.

Uniform distribution of particles was observed at the speed of 200rpm with

less porosity. Higher porosity due to the entrapment of gas occurred at

500rpm.


The higher content of silicon carbide increased the porosity volume.

J. Hasim

(2001) [13]

Aluminium alloy

A359 with 5-25%

vol. SiC

Two step Stir

Casting

Microstructure,

Hardness, Tensile

strength

Successful fabrication of aluminium matrix composite by using the stir

casting method has added a new dimension to the processing of cast

composites.

The porosity level was reduced by preheating the ceramic particles to burn

off the any moisture.

Microstructural observation revealed that the reduction in grain size due to

the stirring action of the slurry strengthen the composite more as compared

with the unreinforced alloy.

Bindumadhavan

et al. (2001) [14]

Al alloy(356)

reinforced with 15%

SiC small and large

particle sizes

Stir casting Hardness, Wear

resistance

The hardness of the composite increased with the SiCp content which also

reduced the wear loss.

For the same total volume fraction of SiC reinforcement the composite with

small sized particles displayed better wear resistance as compared to the large

sized particles composite.

Dual Particle Sized (DPS) composites have potential for their material

properties to be suitably altered to meet different engineering requirements

by a suitable choice of particle sizes.

Riahi and Alpas

( 2001) [15]

Graphitic aluminium

reinforced with 10%

SiC and 5% Al2O3

Stir casting The role played by the

tribolayers

Three main wear regimes, namely ultra-mild, mild and severe wear were

determined.

In the mild wear regimes, the protective tribolayers was formed at all the

sliding speeds and load.

Tribolayers safeguarded sub surface of the region and also delayed the

transition from mild to severe wear.

The graphitic composites was developed for cylinder liner applications in

cast aluminium engine blocks.


Jun et al.

(2004) [16]

Al–12Si alloy

reinforced 12%

Al2O3 and 4%

carbon short fibers

Squeeze-

infiltration

The effects of applied

load and reinforcing

fibre on wear properties

Carbon fibre was more efficient in improving wear resistance of the hybrid

composites at high applied load.

When applied load was below the critical load, dominant wear mechanisms

were ploughing grooves and delamination.

The dominant wear mechanisms shifted to severe wear when the applied load

exceeds the critical load.

Kok-.K

(2005) [17]

Aluminium alloy

reinforced with three

different sizes and

weight fractions of

Al2O3particles up to

30 wt.%

Vortex method

and subsequent

applied pressure

Mechanical properties

e.g.

Hardness , Tensile

strength, Porosity

The density measurements have shown that the samples contained little

porosity, and the amount of porosity in the composites increased with

increasing weight fraction and decreasing size of particles.

The hardness and the tensile strength of the composites increased with

decreasing size and increasing weight fraction of particles.

Vencl et al.

(2006) [18]

Al alloy reinforced

with 3 wt.% Al2O3

Compo-casting Hardness and Wear

resistance at high load

Improvement of wear resistance for the composite material with 3 wt. %

Al2O3 reinforcement was significant for specific load up to 1 MPa.

Adhesive wear was a predominant mechanism of wear followed by plastic

deformation with increase of specific load.

Han Jian-min et

al. (2006) [19]

Al alloy (A356) with

10% and 20% SiC

vol. particles

Improved Stir

casting

Microstructures of the

cast composites

Microstructure of the cast composites revealed three phases of the

composites e.g. α-Al, eutectic structures and SiC particles be located

predominantly in the inter-dendritic regions.

The growth of α-Al nuclei led to enrichment of SiC in the melt around the

particles. The interface formation between SiC and the matrix was confirmed

by the interface reaction products such as Al4C3 which was also detected


experimentally.

An improved stir casting process is established for fabricating SiCp/A356

composites with good mechanical properties and less defects.

Mondal et al.

(2006) [20]

Al–Si alloy (ADC-

12) with SiC

Stir casting Microstructure, Wear

behaviour

Addition of ceramic reinforcement such as SiC particles improved the wear

resistance of the alloy.

Transition in wear mechanism from microcutting/ploughing dominated to

micro-cracking and -fracturing dominated wear took place when abrasive

size increased from 100 to 120 mm.

The wear resistance increased linearly with increase in SiC content and

decreased with increase in reinforcement size.

Pathak et al.

(2006) [21]

Aluminium- alloy

reinforced with

0.6,1.5 and 2.2%

SiC particles

Stir casting Strength, Hardness,

Wear resistance

coefficient of friction

The silicon carbide particles dispersed in the grain boundary regions and

fragmented dendrites in the synthesized SiC particles aluminium-silicon alloy

was observed.

Increased hardness of the matrix alloys with the incorporation of silicon

carbide powder also improved the wear resistance of composite under dry

sliding.

The thick oxidative layers in the composite with higher amount of silicon

carbide safeguarded the matrix even under high loading conditions.

Composite having higher amount of SiC possessed lower frictional resistance

than to lower amount of SiC composite.

Uyyurua et al.

(2007) [22]

Al–Si/15 and 20%

SiCp

Stir casting Wear rate , Friction

coefficient with the

variation of applied load

and sliding speed

With increase in the applied normal load, the wear rate is observed to

increase whereas the friction coefficient decreases.

The wear rate and friction coefficients are observed to vary proportionally

with the sliding speed. During the wear tests, formation of a protective tribo-

layer is observed, which plays a significant role in determining the wear


behaviour of the composite apart from acting as a source of wear debris.

Rodriguez et al.

(2007) [23]

Al-8090 with 15 vol.

% SiCp

Spray co-

deposition

Wear behaviour at

different pressures and

temperatures

At a transition temperature, the wear rate changed from mild to severe wear

for both the composites. The SiC reinforcement addition successfully shifted

the transition temperature to higher values which were also dependant on

pressure.

It has been also observed that the presence of mechanically mixed layers on

the wear surface with varying morphology and thickness seemed to be a key

factor controlling the mild wear of these materials.

Prabu et al.

(2008) [24]

A384 Aluminium

alloy with 10% SiC

Stir casting Stirring speed, Stirring

time,

Hardness

Microstructure analysis clearly indicated that at low stirring speed of 500rpm

and stirring time clustering was the predominant phenomenon.

At high stirring speed of 700rpm the increase of porosity was dominant and

both are detrimental to the mechanical properties of the composite.

The processing parameters standardization at a speed of 600rpm with 10 min

was done to achieve defect free composite with uniform hardness.

Tang et al.

(2008) [25]

Al-5083 matrices

reinforced with 5 and

10 wt.% B4C

particles.

Hot

isostatic

pressing (HIP)

Coefficient of friction,

Wear rate at different

sliding speeds at the

variable loads

The composite prepared with 10 wt.% B4C yielded 40% lower wear rate

than that of the composite with 5 wt.% B4C under the same test conditions.

This experimental result indicated a significant effect of the B4C particles on

enhancing the wear resistance of these composites.

The change in the wear mechanism from abrasive wear to adhesive wear was

attributed to the change in coefficient of friction.

Sudarshan and

Surappa

(2008) [26]

A356-Al composites

containing 6 and 12

Vol.% fly ash

particles

Stir casting Mechanical properties Increased volume percentage of the reinforcement increased the porosity due

to the long processing time which consequently led to increase in pickup of

hydrogen from the atmosphere.

The results showed considerable increase in both the bulk hardness and micro

hardness due to addition of fly ash.


The composite with 6% fly ash exhibited higher compressive strength

compared to 12 Vol.% fly ash reinforced composite.

The prepared A356 Al fly ash metal matrix composite displayed superior

damping characteristics compared to unreinforced alloy at ambient

temperature.

Natarajan et al.

(2009) [27]

Aluminium

reinforced 5 and 10%

TiB2

In-situ Wear behaviour at

elevated temperatures

The hardness and wear resistance of TiB2 reinforced composite was higher

than the unreinforced matrix alloy at all test temperature and also increased

with the increase in amount of TiB2 which enhanced the load carrying

capacity of the composite.

The wear mechanism of the composites changed from abrasive wear to

oxidative wear with the rise of temperature.

At high temperature above 200oC, severe adhesive wear occurs when crack

propagation was predominant factor.

Rao and Das

(2010) [28]

Al-Zn Mg (7009)

alloy10,15

and 25wt.%

SiC particle

Stir casting Effect of heat treatment

on the sliding wear with

applied load and sliding

speed

The uniform distribution of SiC particles in aluminium alloy matrix was

observed and the dendrites of Al and precipitates along the inter-dendritic

regions were present.

The maximum hardness was obtained at the peak aging 6h of heat treatment

and wear rate increased with increasing sliding speed and load.

Addition of SiC particle increased the seizure pressure and temperature

.

Kaur et al.

(2010) [29]

SiC reinforced Al-Si

along with the SiC

5% and 10% addition

Spray forming Wear rate under different

loading conditions and at

various temperatures

The change in wear mechanism was observed with the increase in applied

load.

The SiC reinforced composites exhibited better wear resistant than

unreinforced alloy even at higher loads due to the oxidative-cum-adhesive

wear mechanism.


Kumar et al.

(2010) [30]

AA7075Al

l5- 25% SiC

Powder

metallurgy

Hardness, Abrasive wear

behaviour with different

particle sizes using

mathematical model the

analysis of variance

(ANOVA)

Hardness of the composite increased with the SiC addition and micrographs

showed uniform distribution of the SiC particles.

The abrasive wear behaviour clearly indicated the increase in wear resistance

as SiC acted as a load-supporting element.

Composites with larger reinforcement size and high volume fraction

displayed improved abrasive wear resistance as compared to other

combinations.

At high load, particle pull out was the dominant wear mechanism in

composites with finer SiCp, whereas particle fracture and wearing of SiCp

was the predominant in composites with coarser SiCp.

Sreenivasan et al.

(2011) [31]

Al 6061 alloy

reinforced with 5,10

,15%TiB2

Stir casting Microstructure and Wear

behaviour at different

loads and speeds

The microstructure revealed the segregation of TiB2 particles in the inter-

dendritic region as rejected by the α-aluminium dendrites.

Wear rate decreased with increasing the content of TiB2 on the other hand it

increased with the applied load.

Abrasive wear was demonstrated at low loads, whereas, in the case of higher

applied loads, delamination wear was dominant.

Rao and Das

(2011) [32]

Aluminium alloy

with 10 and 25% SiC

Stir casting

Inter-metallic phases,

Coefficient of friction,

Seizure resistance

The formation of inter-metallic phases such as Al2CuMg and Mg2Cu6Al5

were found in Al-Cu-Mg alloy in as cast condition. The surface temperature

and coefficient of friction significantly increased with increase in the applied

pressure.

At lower applied pressure, formation of continuous grooves, MML and some

damaged regions were seen. At high pressure, in seizure condition the wear

was characterized by the formation of parallel lips, destruction of MML

along the sliding direction.

The seizure resistance was found to improve with the amount of SiCp.


Reddappa et al.

(2011) [33]

Al-6061 reinforced

with 2, 6, 10 and

15% beryl

composites

Stir casting Hardness, Wear rate ,

Friction coefficient with

the variation of applied

load

High friction coefficient was observed due to the strong interlocking of the

rough surfaces in contact during the initial stages of sliding,.

Abrasive wear was dominant in the steady state and a transfer film formed on

the surface reduced the wear rate.

The increase of load led to a significant increase of the wear rate. As the load

increased from lower to higher values the morphology of the worn surface

gradually changed from the scratches to distinct grooves and flake craters

.

Radhika et al.

(2011)[34]

Aluminium alloy

(Al-Si 10 %)

reinforced with

alumina (9%) and

graphite (3%)

Stir Casting Wear rate prediction

using Taguchi design

The sliding speed, applied load and sliding distance increased the wear rate.

Incorporation of reinforcement increased the wear resistance of the

composite by forming a protective layer between pin and counter face.

Comparison between the experimental and the computed values confirmed

that Taguchi design was successfully used to predict the tribological

behaviour of composite.

Toptan et al.

(2012) [35]

Al alloy reinforced

with 15 and 19% B4C

Squeeze casting

route at low

vacuum.

Micro-structural features

and the reciprocal dry

sliding wear behaviour

The homogeneous distribution of the B4C particle with decreased porosity

was attributed to the addition of Titanium containing flux which promoted

the wetting between B4C and liquid aluminium metal.

ANOVA analysis showed strongest statistical and physical significance on

the wear rate which was found to increase with volume fraction, load and

sliding distance and decreased with sliding velocity.

The examinations of the worn surfaces confirmed that wear mechanism was a

combination of adhesive, abrasive and delamination wear.


Kumar et al.

(2012) [36]

Al6061 reinforced

with 2- 6 wt.% SiC

Stir casting

Density, Hardness,

Tensile strength,

Wear properties

Hardness, density, tensile strength increased with the filler content.

The wear resistance of the composite was higher than that of the base alloy.

The composite with 6 wt.% reinforcement exhibited superior mechanical and

tribological properties.

Lakhvir et al.

(2012) [37]

Al alloy with

3, 6 and 9% Al2O3

particles

Stir casting Effect of different input

processing parameters

i.e. particle size, wt% of

reinforcement, stirring

time wt. %

Increasing trend in hardness, tensile strength and impact strength was

observed with higher weight percentage.

All these mechanical properties displayed upward trend with increase in

weight %, stirring time and decrease in particle size of the reinforcement.

Zhu et al.

(2012) [38]

Al alloy reinforced

with 20 and 30%

alpha Al2O3 and

Al3Zr particles

In-situ High temperature wear

behaviour

With the rise in temperature due to sliding, the work hardening occurred on

the wear surface which enhanced the wear resistance of the composite.

Recrystallization taking place at the wear surface during the dry sliding have

resulted in the decrease in the hardness of the wear surface thus increased the

wear loss.

Nagaral et al.

(2013) [39]

6061 Al alloy

reinforced with 3,6

and 9% Al2O3

particles

Stir casting Hardness, Tensile and

Yield Strength

Hardness, tensile and yield strength was observed to increase with the weight

% of reinforcement.

The optical micrographs revealed uniform distribution of particles and

microstructure contains the primary α - Al dendrites and eutectic silicon with

Al2O3 particles separated at inter-dendritic regions.

The composite demonstrated improved wear resistance due to incorporation

of hard Al2O3 particles in the 6061 Al alloy which restricted the ploughing

action of the hard steel counterparts.

Shivaprakash et

al. (2013) [40]

2.5%-15% flyash

reinforced AA2024

Stir casting Hardness ,Wear

mechanism by

performing the wear test

The increase of fly ash content increased the matrix hardness which in turn

enhanced the wear resistance of the composite as compared to the

unreinforced alloy.


by varying the speeds

and by applying different

normal loads

The filler volume was optimized between 23 to 35% which can provide the

maximum wear resistance to the composite.

Uthaya kumar et

al.

(2013) [41]

Al alloy with 5,10

and 15% SiC and

B4C

Stir Casting Coefficient of friction,

Wear resistance

The B4C particles enhanced the production of rich tribo oxide layer by

forming boron oxide which has reduced the progress of wear and coefficient

of friction.

At high loads and sliding velocities plastic deformation was the operating

wear mechanism accompanied by the melt wear due to high order of local

stress prevailing at the condition.

Boopathi et al.

(2013) [42]

Aluminium with 15%

SiC- fly ash

Stir Casting Physical and Mechanical

properties

The incorporation of reinforced particles decreased the density of the

composite.

Increase in area fraction of reinforcement in matrix resulted in the

improvement of hardness, tensile strength and the yield strength.

Increased percentage addition of SiC and fly ash decreased the rate

elongation of the hybrid composite.

Altinkok et al.

(2013) [43]

Al alloy reinforced

with 10% of

Al2O3/SiC

Stir Casting Micro-structural studies

and

Wear behaviour at high

temperatures

Hybrid particle distribution within the matrix increased the wear resistance.

Fine Al2O3 particles were well distributed in the inter-particles spacing of

coarse SiC particles within the matrix which hardened the matrix and

decreased the wear rate.

The coefficient of friction of a fine hybrid particle size MMCs was lower

than that of a coarse particle size MMCs at room temperature.

Baskaran et al.

(2014) [44]

Al-7075 alloy with 4

and 8% of TiC

Reactive in-situ

casting

Microstructural studies

Wear behaviour

SEM analysis showed that TiC particles were uniformly distributed along

the grain boundaries.


particulate

reinforcement

Incorporation of 4% TiC improved the maximum wear resistance of the

composite as compared to 8%TiC composite.

Show et al.

(2014) [45]

635 Al alloy with

4% (Al2O3+SiC)

hybrid reinforcement

Stir Casting Wear behaviour at

different loads

• At lower load, the dominant wear mechanism involves adhesion and micro

cutting abrasion.

At higher loads abrasive wear involving micro cutting and micro-ploughing

with the oxide formation which was the main cause of wear damage.

• Hybrid composite (2 Vol% Al2O3+2 Vol% SiC) exhibited the best wear

resistance due to massive clusters which resisted the abrasive action.


2.2 Mineral Reinforced Aluminium Composites

Since the present work deals with the reinforcement of rutile mineral so the details of mineral

reinforced composite are described below. In order to reduce the cost of the composites,

reinforcement of naturally occurring minerals is now being done. Though the work is in the

preliminary stage but offers high potential as these reinforcement are easily available with low

cost. Moreover, there is no hazardous material involved in it. Waste composites can be easily

recycled also. Since the present work is also on less studied rutile reinforced composite, so a

detailed study of the minerals reinforced composite is presented here. The properties of cast

aluminium alloy-sillimanite particle composite prepared by stir casting were studied by Singh et

al. [46]. The microstructure of the composites showed reasonably uniform distribution of

sillimanite particles and good mechanical bonding with the matrix alloy. The hardness and wear

resistance of the composite were found to be significantly higher than those of the base alloy. It

was found that aluminium-sillimanite composite can be used as a wear resistant material in place

of aluminium alloy. Singh et al. [47] also studied the two body abrasive wear behaviour of the

cast aluminium alloy reinforced with 10 wt.% sillimanite. They studied the wear behavior of stir

cast AMCs containing coarse and fine size sillimanite particles at different loads and for different

sliding distances. Wear rate of the composites and the matrix alloy increased with the increase in

applied load and abrasive size. The greater fracturing tendency and decohesion of ceramic

reinforcements due to combined effect of higher load and coarser abrasives led to the formation

of wider and deeper wear grooves. Wear resistance of the composite was superior to that of

matrix alloy for finer size abrasives, whereas the trend reversed for coarser size abrasives.

Ranganath et al. [48] studied the dry sliding wear behaviour of garnet reinforced zinc/aluminium

metal matrix composites. The results indicated the decrease in wear rates of the composites with

the increase in garnet content. Increment in wear rate was observed with increasing the applied

load and sliding speed. Sharma et al. [49] investigated the tribological behaviour of Al 6061-

garnet particulate composite prepared by the liquid metallurgical technique. The hardness and

wear resistance of the composite was found to increase with increasing content of garnet

particulate. It was observed that mechanically mixed layer (MML) was responsible for the

decrease in wear rate and coefficient of friction which improves the tribological behaviour of the

Al-6061 to a greater extent with the addition of garnet reinforcement.


Chaudhary et al. [50] prepared Al-2Mg-11TiO2 composites through spray forming and stir

casting technique and compared the frictional and wear behaviour of the composites. They

observed the reduction in wear rate as compared to the base alloy when tested under the similar

conditions. Higher micro hardness at the interface as compared to the matrix reflects good

interfacial bonding. They also found that, addition of TiO2 particles in the alloy change the wear

mechanism from purely adhesive to mixed mode of oxidative and abrasive wear. The size of the

wear debris increased with the increase in load due to the increased size of the width of grooves.

The pull out of TiO2 particles during wear caused abrasion on the matrix surface resulting in

severe deformation of particles and platelets. The change from mild to severe wear was delayed

in the composite as compared to the alloy with the increase of load.

Hamid et al. [51] prepared a light weight TiO2 reinforced composite by dispersing titanium

dioxide (TiO2) particles in the molten aluminium. The influence of both reinforcing particles and

porosity contents on the wear and friction of in situ cast composites were evaluated. It was

observed that wear rate and coefficient of friction of the in-situ cast composite decreased with

the increasing load and the porosity content and also found to increase with the increasing the

TiO2 content.

Chaudhary et al. [52] prepared the Al-2Mg-7TiO2 composite using spray forming technique

because of its scope of forming near-net shape product in a single step at high casting rates.

Microstructural observations revealed better particles-matrix bonding and higher degree of

uniformity in the distribution of rutile particles in the matrix of spray formed composite vis-à-vis

stir cast composite. Hardness of the spray formed composites was found to be greater than the

stir cast composites due to lower amount of porosity with refined grains in spray formed

composite. Hardness of the composites increased appreciably with the degree of mechanical

working. The ultimate tensile strength of spray formed composite was greater than the stir cast

composite, but elongation showed lower values due to refined grains in spray formed

composites.

Hemanth et al. [53] used Taguchi technique for the simultaneous optimization of tribological

parameters in metal matrix composite. Aluminium metal matrix composite (Al-Cu-Mg) alloy

reinforced with 6wt % of titanium dioxide was prepared using stir casting method. Dry sliding

wear and frictional force of the composite material under different loads and sliding velocities

revealed the improved wear behaviour of the composite.


Das et al. [54] used stir casting route for incorporating zircon sand particles of different sizes and

amounts in Al- 4.5Cu alloy melt. Scanning electron micrographs had shown that the coarser

particles are more spherical in shape compared to the finer ones. Due to the high coefficient of

thermal expansion of the particles as compared to the matrix, the solidification in the vicinity of

larger size of the reinforced zircon particles was delayed which caused more refinement in grain

morphology. XRD pattern of synthesized composites showed the presence of Al, CuAl2 and

zircon. Wear resistance improved significantly with the addition of zircon sand particles in Al-

4.5Cu alloy. The abrasion resistance of the composite increased with the increasing amount of

particle and decreasing particle size.

Mazahery et al. [55] studied the abrasive wear behaviour of ZrSiO4 reinforced aluminium matrix

composite (AMCs). The uniformity in the distribution of the particles within the matrix was the

salient micro-structural feature which influenced the properties of the particulate AMCs. They

found that, superior wear resistance was offered by the composite material as compared to the

alloy, irrespective of the applied load and zircon particle volume fraction. At the critical load,

abrupt increase in wear rate was attributed to high frictional heating thus the localized adhesion

and softening of the surface with counter surface. The results were consistent with the rule that in

general, alloy reinforced with minerals acquire more hardness and display better wear and

abrasive resistance.

Panwar et al. [56] studied the wear behaviour of zircon sand reinforced LM13 alloy composites

at elevated temperatures. The four composites with 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt.% of zircon

reinforcement were developed by stir casting route. XRD pattern of the composites revealed

good bonding between the LM13 alloy and zircon sand particles, which was attributed to the

formation of Al2SiO5 phase at interface due to the reaction of zircon sand and LM13 alloy during

casting. Zircon sand particles enhance the hardness and wear resistance at a particular load and

lowered coefficient of thermal expansion. Composites with more than 10 wt.% of reinforcement

show better wear resistance at higher temperature. Abrupt change in the wear rate in the wear

graphs at different temperatures marked as the transition temperature, because of the softening of

the matrix. Transition temperature was observed to increase with increase in the amount of

reinforcement. Microstructural analysis of wear tracks and debris revealed that both adhesive and

abrasive wear mechanisms were dominant in determining the wear of the composites.


Okafor and Algbodfon [57] studied the properties of Al-4.5 Cu/ZrSiO4 particulate cast composite

with 5-25 wt.% the variation in ZrSiO4. Microstructural examination of the composite revealed

the existence of interfacial zone between the metal matrix and the reinforcement material. The

interfacial analysis regarding the thermal, electrical and mechanical properties of the composite

was the important factor while designing the MMC for a particular task. From the results, it was

concluded that the addition of ZrSiO4 particles using Al-4.5Cu alloy increased both the strength

and hardness and also an overall reduction in toughness and density. The addition of zircon sand

particles also increased the apparent porosity of the composites. These observations led to the

possibilities that the Al-4.5Cu/15wt.% ZrSiO4 composite could be a better material for

automobile industries (brake drum crack shafts, valves and suspension arms), recreational

products (gold club shaft and, head, skating shoe, bicycle frames and base ball shaft) and in the

construction company (truss structure).

Hybrid AMCs reinforced with zircon sand (ZiSiO4) and silicon carbide SiC was developed by

Suresh et al. [58] using a stir casting technique. The studies were conducted to determine the

effect of the dual particle reinforcement on the wear behaviour and the microstructure of the

composites. The dual particle composite showed significant improvement in wear resistance by

mixing the reinforcement in the appropriate proportion (75% Zircon sand and 25% SiC). The

change in silicon morphology in the vicinity of the particle enhanced the interfacial bonding thus

increased the strength of the composite. As the voids around the particles provided site for crack

initiation so delamination was the dominant wear mechanism.

Suresh et al. [59] studied the tribological characteristic of the composites reinforced with tri-

reinforced particles (ZrSiO4, SiC and Zirfloor) developed through stir casting. The high hardness

of the composite at the matrix/particle interface indicated good interfacial bonding. Wear rate of

the composites increased with the increase in applied load. The tri-reinforced prepared composite

displayed better wear behaviour as compared to the single particle reinforced composite.

Another investigations conducted by Suresh et al. [60] were with the aim to study the role of

particle size for high temperature applications of the zircon sand reinforced LM-13 Al alloy

composite. The change in microstructural feature was the presence of globular silicon in the

vicinity of the reinforced particles resulting from the refinement in grain morphology. The

micro-hardness measured at different areas indicated good interfacial bonding. The decrease in

wear rate with operating temperatures was due to formation of the oxide film and glazing layer


on sliding components which prevented the direct metal-to-metal contact of sliding surfaces

during sliding. The DPS composite containing 75% fine and 25% coarse particles turned out to

be better wear resistant material at all temperatures for both low and high loads. Wear behaviour

of composites at temperatures below 373 K (100°C) is delamination followed by partial abrasive

wear, which leads to plastic deformation whereas high temperature wear was oxidative

dominant.

2.3 Scope for the Present Investigation

By reviewing the literature on the aluminium metal matrix reinforced materials, it was observed

that reinforcement of the variety of ceramic particulate have been studied in details. Even the

tribological and wear properties with various types of reinforcement material, e. g. Al2O3, SiC,

TiB2, graphite have been discussed in a review article [52]. The interest in natural mineral

reinforced composite materials is rapidly growing both in terms of their industrial applications

and fundamental research. They are renewable, cheap, completely or partially recyclable, and

biodegradable. Natural minerals like garnet, zircon, rutile, sillimanite etc. can be used as the

reinforcement of composites. Their availability, renewability, low density, and price as well as

satisfactory mechanical properties make them an attractive ecological alternative to others

ceramics used for the manufacturing of composites [6]. The literature review reveals that

comparatively less work has been done on the reinforcement of Al matrix with minerals.

Moreover, in the published articles, the tribological studies of the mineral reinforced composites

with the variation of particles size and amount of reinforcement have not been studied in a

systematic manner. The wear characteristics at high temperatures and also under the high applied

loads need to be explored for high temperature structural applications. Limited work has been

done on rutile reinforced AMCs.

To bridge this gap it is planned to study the wear properties of LM13 Al alloy reinforced with

rutile mineral in various concentrations 5%, 10%, 15% and 20wt.% and with the variation of

different particle sizes with fine sized particles (50-75µm) and coarse sized particles (106-

125µm). Tribological behaviour of the samples has been studied under different loading

conditions varying from 9.8N to 49.0N and under various temperatures ranging from 50oC to

300oC. Microstructural analysis of the prepared samples and the worn surfaces and debris has

helped in determining the type of wear mechanism responsible for the loss of material during the

dry sliding.


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CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW - Shodhgangashodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/57371/9/09_chapter 2.pdf · Chapter 2 Literature Review Page 17 ... [9] 6061 aluminium alloy with