Relationships between mechanical and tribological properties of Zn-15Al-based ternary and quaternary alloys

Abstract

Abstract Five ternary Zn-15Al-(1 – 5)Cu and six quaternary Zn-15Al-3Cu-(0.5 – 3)Si alloys were prepared by permanent mold casting for this work. Their unlubricated sliding friction and wear properties were investigated at a pressure of 3 MPa and a sliding speed of 1.5 m s−1 for a sliding distance of 2 500 m using a block-on-disc type tester. The friction coefficient and wear volume of the ternary alloys decreased with increasing copper content, but above 3 % Cu the trend reversed. As the hardness and both tensile and compressive strengths of the ternary alloys increased, their friction coefficient, working temperature and wear volume decreased. However, the trend reversed for the hardness and compressive strength of the quaternary alloys. The correlation between mechanical and tribological test results showed that the wear volume of Zn-15Al-based alloys can be determined in terms of their tensile strength.