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Materials and Design

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Technical Report

Wear performance of AlSiCB4C hybrid composites under dry sliding conditions

M. Uthayakumar a,, S. Aravindan b, K. Rajkumar b
a b

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalasalingam University, Krishnankoil 626 126, India Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110 016, India

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
Hybrid metal matrix composites consist of a metal or an alloy matrix with strongly embedded multiple hard reinforcements to enhance the wear resistance properties. This research study emphasizes on the dry sliding wear behavior of aluminum reinforced with 5% SiC and 5% B4C hybrid composite using a pin on disc tribometer. Wear performance of the hybrid composites were evaluated over a load ranges of 20100 N, at the sliding velocities from 1 to 5 m/s. Detailed metallurgical examination and energy dispersive analysis were carried out to assess the effect of SiC and B4C particles on the wear mechanisms. The Focused Ion Beam (FIB) technique is used to characterize the tribo layers that have been formed at the worn surfaces of composites. The experimental results show that the hybrid composites retain the wear resistance properties up to 60 N load and sliding speed ranges 14 m/s. The enhancement of wear resistance with small amount of SiC and B4C is achieved by the cooperating effect of reinforcement particles. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 15 September 2012 Accepted 29 November 2012 Available online 8 December 2012

1. Introduction The need for a new wear resistant material for high performance tribological applications has been one of the major driving forces for the tribological development of ceramic particulate reinforced aluminum alloy during the last decade [1]. Various forms of reinforcements are used in aluminum alloy matrices such as silicon carbide, alumina, and zirconia. in the form of bers, whiskers or particulate to enhance the wear performance and also properties tailored to the suitable applications [2]. Moreover, B4C is understood to have neutron absorbing capability [3], and hence, B4C reinforced composite may well be suited for applications in nuclear reactors. Many researchers exploited the different reinforcement particles with different form to fabricate the aluminum composites and used different fabrication routes for achieving the required properties. SiC, TiB2 and B4C are the suitable reinforcement materials to improve the tribological properties of a matrix material [4]. Bekir investigated the tribological and mechanical properties of Al2O3SiC reinforced aluminum composites. The increase in mono ceramic reinforcement in aluminum matrix increases the wear resistance obviously. An alternative approach is to improve the overall properties of composites by way of adding one or more suitable (multiple) reinforcements to the virgin metal matrix. This is called as the hybrid composite to exploit the properties of reinforcements [5]. Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) also have excellent wear properties. It is true that some MMCs have shown improved wear
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 4563 289042, mobile: +91 9443918525.
E-mail address: m.uthayakumar@klu.ac.in (M. Uthayakumar). 0261-3069/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2012.11.059

resistance, for example graphite particle reinforced with aluminum alloy in sliding wear. Particle reinforcement of alumina in aluminum alloy increased the wear resistance [6]. Manish et al. have reported that the introduction of reinforcing particle in an aluminum matrix could reduce the wear rate with increased transition load means the load at which transition occurs from mild to severe wear [7]. Rao and Das have found that the wear coefcient of the alloy was signicantly higher than that of the AlSiC composite and is suppressed further due to addition of silicon carbide particles and applied pressure [8]. According to Alahelisten et al., the tribological behavior of a composite depends on the microstructural properties of the material, type of loading and sliding condition [9]. Coppergraphite (5 wt%) composite is a tribological composite was fabricated through powder metallurgy (P/M) route and can be used in sliding electrical contact applications requiring low friction and wear in addition to high electrical conductivity [10]. The inuence of sliding speed on the friction and wear behavior of the Al-13% SiC composite and Al-13% B4C composite sliding against a commercial phenolic brake pad has been investigated under dry condition by Shorowordi et al. [11]. It is observed that higher sliding velocity leads to lower wear rate and friction coefcient for both the metal matrix composites. Formation of a compact transfer layer has been identied at the worn surface of the MMCs which enhances the tribological properties. According to Topcu, increasing weight percent of B4C in aluminum matrix increased the hardness of the composite [12]. Tang et al. demonstrated the dry sliding friction and wear properties of 5 wt% and 10 wt% B4C particulate reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites. According to the ndings, the wear rate of 10 wt% was approximately 40% lower than that of composite 5 wt% B4C particle

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reinforced composites. These experimental results indicate the signicant effect of B4C particle on enhancing wear resistance of composites. It is understood that instead of increasing mono SiC reinforcement particles in aluminum composites, adding smaller amount of B4C can drastically improve the tribological properties and also positive impact on the fracture toughness. Due to increasing the mono reinforcement particles in metal matrix apparently affect the fracture toughness which is also one of the wear control parameter [13]. Addition of B4C particles with bigger particle size results in more homogeneous composite microstructure compared to the composite with smaller B4C particle size due to agglomeration [14]. Addition of B4C to the powder mixture resulted in a drastic decrease in inltration temperature and fully inltrated composites [15]. Aluminum reinforced with SiC has been prepared by various researchers in order to understand the effect of various factors such as the particle size [16], the load [17] and the sliding speed [18]. In this work, a detailed examination of the dry sliding wear on the aluminum matrix with 5%wt B4C and 5%wt SiC as reinforcements with varying sliding velocity from 1 m/s to 5 m/s over a load range of 20100 N. 2. Experimental procedure 2.1. Preparation of composite Hybrid composite comprises 1100 aluminum alloy as matrix and SiC and B4C as reinforcements. Samples of the composites were prepared by stir casting route. The melting was carried out in a resistance furnace. Scraps of 1100 aluminum were preheated at 450 C for 34 h before melting. Chemical composition of the matrix material is shown in Table 1. The SiC and B4C particles were also preheated at 1000 C to make their surfaces oxidized to improve the wetting property with aluminum melt. The average particle size of the SiC (5 wt%) particles was 10 lm, and the average particle size of B4C (5 wt%) was 65 lm. The preheated aluminum scraps were rst heated above the liquidus temperature to melt it completely. Then it is slightly cooled below the liquidus to maintain the slurry in the semisolid state. The preheated reinforcements were added to aluminum semi solid melt and mixed manually. Manual mixing was used because it was very difcult to mix using automatic device when the alloy was in a semisolid state. The composite slurry was then reheated to a fully liquid state, and mechanical mixing was carried out for about 1015 min at an average mixing speed of 150300 rpm. The nal temperature was controlled to be within 750 C 10 C, and pouring temperature was controlled to be around 720 C. After thorough stirring, the melt was poured into steel molds of 20 mm diameter and 300 mm in length and allowed to cool to obtain cast rods. Developed composites were tested for their physical and mechanical properties. The tensile properties of composite were carried out in an Instron tensile tester, the sample preparation
Table 1 Chemical composition of aluminum alloy. Element Wt (%) Si 0.95 Cu 0.050.2 Mn 0.05 Zn 0.1 Others 0.050.15max Al 99

was based on the ASTM D3552 96(2007). The property of the composite is listed in Table 2. 2.2. Tribology test Dry sliding wear tests were carried out using a pin on disc machine. Pins were machined from the 1100 aluminum alloys and also from cylindrical castings of the hybrid composites for tribology tests based on the ASTM G99 05(2010). Cylindrical pins of dimensions 11 mm diameter and 25 mm height were machined. Typical specimen is presented in Fig. 1. Pins were tested against an EN30 steel disc having the hardness 62 HRC, ground to a surface nish (Ra) of 2.54 lm. The tribological tests were carried out in the ranges of applied normal loads of 20 100 N in step of 20 N and at a sliding speed range from 1 to 5 m/s in steps of 1 m/s with a constant sliding distance of 4000 m. Prior to the tests, the pins were polished with a SiC-1200 grit polishing paper and cleaned with acetone. The friction forces were recorded during the entire wear test and average value was taken. The weight of the pin was measured before and after each wear test using an electronic digital weight balance with an accuracy of 0.1 mg. The temperature rise of pin during wear testing was measured using K type thermocouple. The thermocouple is embedded in the pin at a distance of 2 mm from the contact surface. The experimental setup is shown in Fig. 2. 2.3. Worn surface analysis The worn surfaces of wear tested samples were examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray

Fig. 1. Typical composite specimen.

Table 2 Properties of hybrid composite. Sample Al 5%SiC5%B4C Yield strength (N/mm2) 81.37 Tensile strength (N/mm2) 134.62 Elongation (%) 2.2 Hardness 116 (HV) Fig. 2. Typical experimental facility.

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Spectroscopy (EDAX). Wear debris was also analyzed using SEM with EDAX. Tribo lm and sub surface deformation of worn surface is studied using a dual beam FIB. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Effect of load on coefcient of friction The variation of coefcient of friction of composite and unreinforced aluminum alloy with normal load is shown in Fig. 3. The coefcient of friction is high for aluminum when compared with the hybrid composite. The reduction of friction coefcient is due to the major role played by the formation of boron oxide layer (B2O3) at the contact zone. The pulled out B4C particles were reacting with environment readily to form the B2O3 oxide layer. The formation of boron oxide layer is inuenced by the generated heat. It is observed that coefcient of friction is decreased up to 60 N load and after that it is increased drastically with load. This may be related to the formation and tearing of oxide layer and tribo layer at the contact surfaces respectively. Similar observation is made on aluminumgranite composites when wear tested under different pressure i.e. coefcient of friction is decreased with applied pressure up to 0.8 MPa and then coefcient of friction is increased with applied pressure [2].The tribo layer formation and its stability at the contact surface are inuenced by the normal load and sliding velocity. The stable tribo layer is formed at the contact surfaces under the condition of load from 20 N to 60 N and sliding velocity from1 m/s to 4 m/s. The state at velocity 4 m/s gives better result among other conditions. However, these oxide lms may break down during dry sliding at high load beyond 60 N. The temperature and wear volume of the alloy are observed to be increased continuously with increasing pressure; however, the increase in the wear volume is consistent with one of the Archids laws which states that the volume of wear material is proportional to the normal load or pressure between the contacting surfaces. 3.2. Effect of sliding velocity on coefcient of friction The coefcient of friction of composite with sliding speed is shown in Fig. 4a. The trend of the coefcient of friction is similar to that of wear rate. Similar results is reported on aluminumgranite composites when dry wear tested under different sliding speed, the coefcient of friction is decreased up to 3.96 m/s and then coefcient of friction is increased with increasing sliding speed beyond 3.96 m/s [2]. The SEM micrograph of the surface tested at 2 m/s

and 20 N normal load is presented in Fig. 4b. Very narrow groove line and thin tribo layer covered at the worn surface are observed. The EDAX prole of worn surface at 20 N and 2 m/s is shown in Fig. 4c. The predominant peaks of aluminum alloy and reinforcement particles with Fe and O peak are observed. Fe peaks indicating the reinforcement particles abrade the counter steel surface material. SEM image of worn surface at 3 m/s and 20 N is shown in Fig. 4d. It shows the thick tribo layer presence in worn surface and plastically formed grooves. The SEM worn surface at 5 m/s and 20 N is shown in Fig. 4e. The higher sliding speed produced rough worn surface and completely torn out tribo layer. It is understood that irrespective of load, the higher speed causes the worn surface to get completely damaged. The corresponding EDAX at 5 m/s and 20 N is shown in Fig. 4f where the high intensity peak of Fe is observed. From all this EDAX proles, presence of O peak conrms the oxidative driven wear in all cases. 3.3. Effect of load on wear rate The variation of wear rate of composite and unreinforced aluminum alloy with normal load is shown in Fig. 5a. It is observed that the wear rate of the composite is lower when compared to unreinforced aluminum. Similar results were reported by many investigators for the AlSiC and AlAl203 composites [46]. The aluminum pin is showing the continuously increasing trend of wear with increasing normal load due to direct metal to metal contact. As a result of large scale plastic deformation during dry sliding, larger sized wear debris is formed. For the composite at a given normal load, the wear rate increased mildly up to the load 60 N and thereafter the wear rate increased rapidly. Tang et al. [13] also reported that AlB4C composites exhibited mild wear rate up to 65 N. Embedded ceramic particles reduced the plastic deformation of composite by impeding the dislocation. During sliding the lower order of pull out particles is observed from the composite pin up to 60 N. These pull out particles can act as a third body between tribo couple resulting in a third body abrasion. With continuous sliding, these pull out particles were compacted between the sliding surfaces. Consequently it is increased the compaction of the pull out particles between the tribo couple with increasing normal load. The pull-out particles are mixed with oxide of both composite pin and counter surface materials which are generated during the sliding. It is well known that aluminum readily reacts with environment and forms the aluminum oxide. Singh et al. [2] observed formation of aluminum oxide lm at the contact surface when sliding against the steel counter surface. The pull out particles and protruded reinforcement particles in composite are abrading the counter surface material. These pin and counter surface material and their oxide which are combined during sliding, form the low shear strength tribo layer. This low shear strength tribo layer consists of mixture of all the constituents of the composite, counter surface and oxide products. This tribo layer reduces the plastic deformation of the composite pin to certain extent by way of reducing the direct contact between the tribo surfaces. Similar observation is reported by Alpas and Zhang [1] for the AlSiC composites under the mild wear regime. Fig. 5b revealed (tested at 40 N and 4 m/s sliding condition) the Mechanically Mixed Layer (MML) completely covered by tribo layer and slim grooves. EDAX of worn surface of 40 N and 4 m/s is shown in Fig. 5c, almost all peaks of aluminum alloy and reinforcement particles are observed. In addition, O and Fe peaks are also observed. These peaks are attributed to formation of oxide at the worn surface and abrasion of counter surface material. The SEM image of worn surface at 60 N and 4 m/s is presented in Fig. 5d. The tribo layer has covered the worn surface which resulted due to lower order pulling out of particles. Further these particles are mechanically comminuted between the tribo surfaces producing the ne particles and due to

0.75 0.70 0.65

coefficient of friction

0.60 0.55 0.50 0.45 0.40 0.35 0.30 0.25 20 40 60 80 100 Al composite @ 1m/s composite @ 2m/s composite @ 3m/s composite @ 4m/s composite @ 5m/s

Load N
Fig. 3. Effect of load on coefcient of friction.

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(a)

0.60 0.55

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0.50 0.45 0.40 0.35 0.30 0.25 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

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C Fe Zn Al Si B O Cu

Fe

Cu

Zn

Fe Zn B O Cu

Si

Fe

Cu

Zn

1.5 1.0

0.5 0.0
2 4 6 8 10

10

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Fig. 4. (a) Effect of sliding velocity on coefcient of friction. (b) SEM micrograph at 20 N and 2 m/s. (c) EDAX at 20 N and 2 m/s. (d) SEM micrograph at 20 N and 3 m/s. (e) SEM micrograph at 20 N and 5 m/s. (f) EDAX at 20 N and 5 m/s.

this low order of wear rate is observed. Increasing the load beyond 60 N, the tribo characteristics is changed by protruded reinforcement particles predominately leads to tearing the formed tribo layer. Increased local stress results in larger wear debris formation which gives an indication of severe plastic deformation of the composite. Sannino and Rack [4] reported severe plastic deformation of aluminumSiC composites when tested with high order of normal load and sliding speed due to plastic ow attributed by instability of aluminum matrix. matrix More pull out reinforcements particles are observed when loading beyond the normal load of 60 N which means that considerable plastic deformation of composite

has occurred. Pulled out particles can also form a third body abrasion condition. However the higher amount of presence of ceramic particles in tribo layer results in tearing of the formed tribo layer. Ultimately it leads to the exposure of the virgin composite material at the contact zone which results in increased wear rate. The unstable formation of tribo layer is attributed to the considerable plastic deformation of composite pin. SEM image of worn surface at 100 N and 4 m/s is shown in Fig. 5e. It is observed that there is a severe distortion of worn surface and no presence of tribo layer. The worn surface seems to be mostly torn out of formed layer. EDAX prole of worn surface at 100 N and 4 m/s is shown

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Wear rateX10-5 mm3/m

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Al composite @ 1m/s composite @ 2m/s composite @ 3m/s composite @ 4m/s composite @ 5m/s

28 26 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2

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Al

6
Si Fe Cu Zn

C Fe Zn B O Cu

Al

Si

Fe

Cu

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3 4 2 1 0 2 4 6 8 10 2

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keV

Fig. 5. (a) Effect of load and wear rate. (b) MML at 40 N. (c) EDAX at 40 N. (d) MML at 60 N. (e) MML at 100 N. (f) EDAX at 100 N.

in Fig. 5f. Comparing to 40 N and 4 m/s EDAX prole, similar peaks are observed however there is a distinct difference in the intensity of Fe peak. It is attributed to large scale third body abrasion of pull out particles and protruded reinforcement particles. 3.4. Effect of sliding velocity on wear rate The effect of sliding velocity on wear rate is shown in Fig. 6. It is observed that the wear rate is reduced up to 4 m/s and then begins to increase. Increase in sliding velocity increases the steady formation of tribo layer at the contact surface. Though heat generation is increased with increase of sliding velocity, the generated heat is in one way helpful in the formation of boron oxide- rich tribo layer which would affect the compact layer formation at the contact surface. However when the sliding speed increased beyond the 4 m/s,

high heat is generated results in the occurrence of the softening of composite pin. In addition to that, peeling off and thrown out of formed layer are also observed. It results in increased wear rate of the composite pin. 3.5. Bulk temperature rise The temperature was measured from 1 mm underneath of composite while sliding, The temperature is continuously monitored with the help of K type thermo couple. The temperature rise reported at end of wear test is reported in Fig. 7. Temperature is increasing with increase of load. The trend shown by the 1 and 2 m/s for temperature rise is similar. Beyond 3 m/s the visible increase of temperature rise is observed. The temperature increases with increase in sliding velocity. The temperature rise with sliding

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20 18

composite @ 20N composite @ 60N composite @ 80N

wear rateX10-5 mm3/m

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

velocity within constant duration of test is due to more asperity contact between the composite and counter surface. However there is no steep temperature rise up to 60 N because formed tribo layer reduce the metal to metal contact, thereby reducing frictional heat between the tribo couple. The rapid temperature rise is observed beyond the 60 N wherein more metallic contact results as a result of scarcity in tribo layer at the tribo surface. Typical graph for temperature rise at 60 N load with 1 m/s sliding velocity is presented in Fig. 8 with the temperature rise continuously monitored, and the temperature rise is stabilized after 1000 m sliding distance due to steady and stable tribo layer formation. The compacted tribo layer between the tribo surface leads to maintain the steady value of temperature rise after 1000 m. 4. Wear mechanism Examination of the worn surfaces of the composite pin showed many slim grooves and scratch marks along the sliding direction as explained in the previous section. However to augment the wear mechanism, study the worn surfaces at different load and sliding velocity are necessary and the results are presented in this section. The typical worn surface of hybrid composites is shown in Fig. 9. At lower load (60 N) worn surfaces revealed that coverage of tribolayer and narrow grooved lines are observed from 1 to 3 m/s. The worn surfaces are covered with smooth tribo layer up to 60 N with range of sliding velocity 14 m/s. Wider Grooves and scratching becomes more severe at the higher speeds of 15 m/s and 100 N. Such wear features are the characteristics of severe abrasion, in which hard asperities on the steel counter face, or pulled out hard particles in between the contacting surfaces, plough or microcut into the composite pin, causing wear debris. This suggests that mixed mode of (two body and third body) abrasion occurred mainly through ploughing which has resulted in wider abrasion groove. It has been noted that abrasion is severe in AlB4CSiC composite due to the presence of dislodged and fractured SiC that becomes entrapped between the sliding surfaces or embedded into soft aluminum matrix. SiC particles have a modulus lower than B4C reinforcement particles. At 60 N and 5 m/s, the worn surfaces revealed many plastically deformed into wider grooves. At 100 N and 5 m/s, the worn surface shows localized metal matrix melting layer. In aluminum hybrid composites it has been found that mild abrasion is dominant under a load range of 2060 N and speed range of 14 m/s whereas severe abrasion is seen under a load of 100 N, sliding velocity range of 14 m/s and melting wear is at high load and high sliding speed. When carefully examined at a higher magnication, the worn surface showed three main features: (i) polished ceramic reinforcing particles, (ii) matrix region around the ceramic particles, and (iii) bright debris particles scattered on the surface. The bright particles were particularly visible on the worn surface examined. In this study a new technique of FIB milling is implemented for measuring the tribolayer thickness and subsurface structure. FIBquanta 3D FEG-dual beam was used for this purpose. Rectangular patterns of size 2 lm 2 lm with a depth of 4 lm were cut in the sample using an ion beam with a current of 5 nA under vacuum. FIB is used to cut the rectangular trench on wear track in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction until a certain depth into the substrate and the thickness is measured through the crosssectional analysis of the cut obtained through this milling. The walls of the cut were viewed under SEM in a tilted position at 52 to clearly see the cross-section of the tribo layer, the substrate and the interface and the thickness of the tribo lm was measured. Sliding contact between the metallic surfaces is accompanied by plastic deformation. This deformation is localized within a small volume of material adjacent to contact surfaces and this is known as sub-surface deformation. The depth of subsurface deformation

Sliding velocity m/s

Fig. 6. Effect of sliding velocity on wear rate.

110

100 composite @ 1 m/s composite @ 2 m/s 90 composite @ 3 m/s composite @ 4 m/s 80 composite @ 5 m/s

Temperature rise C

70

60

50

40 20 40 60 80 100

load N
Fig. 7. Effect of temperature rise.

48

46

Temperature rise C

44

42

40 composite @ 60N&1m/s 38

36

34 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000

sliding distance m
Fig. 8. Typical temperature rise of composite.

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Fig. 9. Typical worn surface of AlSiCB4C composite at different loads and sliding speeds.

is inuenced by the sliding parameter. The process of wear debris formation is closely related to the magnitude of the strain gradients within the subsurface deformed layer. Typical FIB milled trench of worn surface is shown in Fig. 10. It is clearly visible of abrasion mark along the sliding direction. Tribolayer is loosely interfaced with composite matrix and also loose wear debris of the composite materials embedded on the surface. FIB-FESEM image at 20 N and 4 m/s is shown in Fig. 11a. It comprises of the tribolayer and deformed sub structure immediately underneath of tribo layer. An interaction of boron carbides against steel irrespective of the composition of the B4C, a dark-grey lm was formed on the steel surface. It also shows the considerable thickness of tribo layer and thin layer of sub surface deformation. The formed tribo layer reduced the transference shear force to underneath of contact surface, resulted in low order of sub surface layer. The low order of sub surface deformation resulted in ne equi-axed wear debris, as shown in Fig. 11b. The magnitude of sub surface deformation is increased with increase in normal load, as evident from Fig. 12a. At higher load and the generated larger shear force which produced larger strain gradient between the contact surface and weaker section at interface of reinforced particles and matrix, as elucidated in the previous section, wear rate is substantially higher at 100 N. This higher order of sub surface deformation produces the larger equiaxed fragmentation of wear debris, as shown in Fig. 12b.

Fig. 10. FIB-milled trench on the wear track of worn surface.

It is clearly understood from the results of dry sliding wear of AlB4CSiC composites that hybrid composites can withstand high load. When wear rate of the unreinforced alloy accelerated abruptly, the wear rate of the composite is, at 80 N load the SiC particle severe to suppress the transition to a severe wear rate regime and impede the transition to load higher than 80 N. But during the

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Fig. 11. (a) AlB4CSiC 20 N and 4 m/s. (b) Wear debris morphology at 20 N and 4 m/s.

Fig. 12. (a) AlB4CSiC 100 N and 4 m/s. (b) Wear debris at 100 N and 4 m/s.

lower load region there is no severe wear rate found. At lower end the load spectrum load about 20 N SiC reinforcement also has a benecial effect on wear resistance. Low loads composite reinforced with SiC particles shows better wear resistance than unreinforced alloys, The increase in wear rate is due to increase in hardness, higher hardness of SiC and B4C and pinning of dislocation by these hard particles. The composite also impede the transition to a higher wear rate regime observed in the matrix alloy above 80 N. Sliding wear takes place due to relative sliding of two surfaces in contact with each other under the inuence of applied load. Surface and sub surface deformation along with material transition between the two contour surfaces leads to the formation of MML of the test specimen. Some amount of material may be oxidized due to high localized heating under oxidizing atmosphere. As a result the surface of the specimen consists of oxide layer or mixed layer of oxides and surface and counter surface material. The degree of oxide layer/MML depends on the applied load. The MML layer protects the surface effectively from wear. Singh et al. [2] also reported that the steady formation of MML is completely protecting the contact zone under the mild wear regime. The sliding wear greatly inuenced by the subsurface deformation and cracks. As a result at high load and high speed material exhibits severe wear (seizure). This was exactly observed in the present study. Up to 60 N there is an oxide formation; tribo layer formation is attributed mild wear rate. From 60 N to 100 N plastic deformation occurs which leads to fracture of SiC and B4C.

The wear rate of the composite is less than the alloy due to the resistance offered by the dispersed particle during sliding. In addition, the dispersion phase improves high temperature strength of the matrix alloy. Under the transition load, for severe wear under such circumstances the mechanically mixed layer gets removed due to high order of sub surface cracking. At the stage B4C particle protruded from the sliding surface, the load on the composite surface would be borne mainly by B4C particle. It is known that the coefcient of friction between steel and B4C is lower than that between steel and aluminum alloy [13]. Hence B4C reinforcement in the AlSiC composites is improved the wear performance. 5. Conclusion Aluminum matrix reinforced with 5 wt% SiC and 5 wt% B4C particles were prepared by stir casting route and the friction and wear behavior of the composites with different normal load and sliding speed were investigated using pin-on-disc machine. From the experimental results the following conclusions can be drawn: 1. The two step stir casting has produced uniformly distributed reinforcement particles in aluminum matrix. The small addition of 5% B4C has considerable effect on the wear resistance of the hybrid composites. 2. The experimental results show that the hybrid composites retain the wear resistance properties up to 60 N and sliding

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3.

4.

5.

6.

speed ranges 14 m/s. The enhancement of wear resistance with small amount of SiC and B4C is achieved by the cooperating effect of reinforcement particles. B4C particles possibly produce boron oxide rich tribo layer which has reduced the progress of wear and coefcient of friction. This hybrid composites show that, it could not perform better at higher load and higher sliding speed. The wear rate and coefcient of friction are decreased with increasing sliding speed up to 4 m/s and as a result, rate formation of tribo layer is higher than tearing of formed tribo layer, whereas the trend is reversed in higher sliding speed. FIB study on the subsurface deformation shows that deformation is increased with increasing the normal load. The wear debris formation is largely inuenced by the tribo layer thickness and subsurface deformation, and wear debris become smaller and eqaxied when the subsurface deformation is smaller. The operating wear mechanisms are plastic deformation driven by mild abrasion and severe abrasion at normal load ranges 20 60 N and 80100 N and sliding velocity ranges 14 m/s respectively. The melt wear is also observed at higher load and high sliding speed due to high order of local stress prevailing at the condition.

Acknowledgement The corresponding author submits his thanks to Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology for the support to carryout this work in Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, under Young Scientist Fellowship Scheme (YSFS). References
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