Friction and Wear Behavior of Graphite-Carbon Short Fiber Reinforced Al–17%Si Alloy Hybrid Composites

Abstract

Graphite and carbon short fiber (copper coated) reinforced (2 wt %) hypereutectic Al–17%Si alloy composites were prepared by liquid metallurgy route. Room temperature friction and wear properties of as-cast hypereutectic Al–Si alloy reinforced with copper coated graphite and short carbon fibers were investigated. Friction and wear tests were conducted using a pin-on-disk machine under dry sliding conditions. The loads (contact pressure) and sliding velocities have been varied from 10 N to 50 N (contact pressure of 0.12–0.60 MPa) and 0.3 m/s to 1.2 m/s, respectively. The results reveal that the coefficient of friction and the wear rate of the hybrid composite are lower than that of the matrix alloy. The coefficient of friction of the matrix alloy and its hybrid composite decreased with increased load of up to 30 N and increased beyond this load. The wear rates of both the matrix alloy and its hybrid composite increased with the increasing load. However, at all the loads and sliding velocities studied, the developed hybrid composite exhibited a lower coefficient of friction and wear rates when compared with the matrix alloy.