Wear behaviour of aluminium alloy and its composites reinforced by SiC particles using statistical analysis

The wear behaviour of SiCp-reinforced aluminium composite produced by the molten metal mixing method was investigated by means of a pin-on-disc type wear rig. Abrasive wear tests were carried out on 5 vol.% SiCp and its matrix alloy against SiC and Al2O3 emery papers on a steel counterface at a fixed speed. The wear rate of the composite and the matrix alloy has been expressed in terms of the applied load, sliding distance and particle size using a linear factorial design approach. The parameters x1, x2 and x3 are the code values of sliding distance, applied load and abrasive size, respectively. It has been demonstrated through established equations that the composite exhibited a low wear rate compared to the unreinforced matrix material for both cases. Moreover, the wear rate increased with increasing applied load, abrasive size and sliding distance for SiC paper, whereas the wear rate increased with applied load and abrasive particle, and it decreased with sliding distance for Al2O3 paper. The interaction effect of the variables exhibited a mixed behaviour towards the wear of the materials.