Tribological and microstructural investigation of hybrid AA8011/ZrB2-Si3N4 nanomaterials for service life improvement

Abstract

The effect of ZrB2-Si3N4 particle reinforcement on the tribological behavior and microstructure of AA8011 alloy has been studied. ZrB2-Si3N4 particles were varied from 0 wt% to 20 wt% with an interval of 5 wt%. Dry sliding pin-on-disc tests at a room temperature condition were conducted to investigate the wear performances of the aluminium alloy/ ZrB2-Si3N4 composites. The tests were conducted at varying loads, from 20 to 40 N. The results depicted that the wear rates of the AA8011 alloy/ZrB2-Si3N4 composites are lower than that of the AA8011 and further decreases with increasing ZrB2-Si3N4 content, Also, the friction coefficient of the matrix alloy is higher than that of the composites and decreases with increasing ZrB2-Si3N4 content. This established the unique efficacy of ZrB2-Si3N4 effect on performance characteristics of aluminium series in application.