Influence of Refinement and Modification on Dry Sliding Wear Behavior of Hypereutectic Al-Si Cast Alloys

Abstract

The microstructures and dry sliding wear behavior of Al-17Si cast alloys were studied after various melt treatments such as refinement and modification. Results indicate that combined refined and modified Al-17Si cast alloys have microstructures consisting of uniformly distributed primary silicon and fine eutectic AlSilicon particles through out the matrix. These alloys exhibited better wear resistance in the cast condition compared with the same alloy subjected to only refinement or modification. The improvements in properties observed in the present studies are mainly due to the structural differences between the refined, modified or both refined and modified over just cast Al-Si alloys. This paper attempts to investigate the influence of the microstructural changes in the Al-17Si cast alloys by refinement, modification and combined action of both on the dry sliding wear behavior.