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Tribology International 43 (2010) 330339

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Tribology International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/triboint

Effect of heat treatment on the sliding wear behaviour of aluminium alloy (AlZnMg) hard particle composite
R.N. Rao a,, S. Das b, D.P. Mondal b, G. Dixit c
a

Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal 506 004, India Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute, Bhopal 462 026, India c Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal 462 007, India
b

a r t i c l e in f o
Article history: Received 28 August 2007 Received in revised form 20 June 2009 Accepted 22 June 2009 Available online 1 July 2009 Keywords: Aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) Heat treatment Aging Wornsurface

a b s t r a c t
Effect of heat treatment on the sliding wear behaviour of aluminium alloy hard particle composite was studied under varying applied load and sliding speed, giving emphasis on the parameters such as wear rate, temperature rise, coefcient of friction and seizure pressure. Hardness is improved due to heat treatment irrespective of the material. Maximum hardness is noted when the materials are aged for 6 h. These facts have been discussed on the basis of nature of worn surface produced after wear. In the present investigation, aging time has been varied from 4 to 10 h at a regular increment of 2 h. & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) reinforced with hard ceramic particles have emerged as a potential material especially for wear resistant and weight critical applications such as brake drums, cylinder liners, pistons, cylinder blocks and connecting rods [1]. These components are subjected to sliding type of wear with the counter bodies. In view of this, several attempts were made to examine the sliding wear behaviour of aluminium and AMCs [27]. In general, AMCs offer superior wear and seizure resistance as compared to the Al-alloy irrespective of applied load and sliding speed. This is primarily due to the fact that the hard dispersoid makes the matrix alloy plastically constrained and improves the high-temperature strength of the virgin alloy [8]. Additionally, the hard dispersoids, present on the surface of the composite as protrusions, protect the matrix from the severe contact with the counter surfaces [6,7], and thus resulting in less wear, lower coefcient friction and temperature rise in composite as compared to that in the alloy [9,10]. On the other hand, a few investigators reported higher values of coefcient of friction of AMCs as compared to the alloy [11,12]. According to these investigators, this may be due to (i) greater depth of penetration of hard dispersoids onto the counter surface and (ii) fracture/ fragmentation of the dispersoids, which in due course gets entrapped into the contact surface.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 9490164981; fax: +918702459547.

E-mail addresses: rnraonitw@yahoo.co.in, rnraonitw@gmail.com (R.N. Rao). 0301-679X/$ - see front matter & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.triboint.2009.06.013

Several investigators have reported a critical applied load above which composites suffer from either equal or higher wear rate with respect to that of the alloy under similar tribo condition [1315]. They observed that this is happening due to fracture, fragmentation and removal of ceramic ber or particles which ultimately leads to delaminating type of wear. Additional drawback of composites with hard rigid ceramic reinforcements is the tendency of these phases to act as rigid abrasive particles, which are causing more abrasive action to the counter surface. Furthermore, liberated reinforcing particles as wear debris rolls over the contacting surfaces which creates three body abrasiontype situation causing more wear on both the contacting surfaces. However, extent of this situation depends on sliding speed, applied load and frictional heating. Limited attempts have been made to examine the effect of aging on the sliding wear behaviour of composites. Wang and Rack [16,17], Pan et al. [18] and Sannino and Rack [19], in general, reported that overaged composites exhibit higher wear resistance when compared with that of underaged one. According to Wang and Rack [16], this difference is attributed to the relaxation of tensile stresses in the matrix and compressive stress induced in the reinforcement during aging. The stress relaxation is more in the overaged one which leads to less fracture of reinforcement and leads to formation of more stable protective layer over the composite surface. However, Pan et al. [18] described this fact due to change in fractural path from particulate matrix interface (in underaged and peak aged) to grain boundary (in overaged one). Sannino and Rack [19] explained this behaviour on the basis of in situ precipitation and growth due to high temperature rise,

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generation of signicantly higher dislocation density due to shear deformation. According to these investigators, the improvement in wear resistance due to overaging becomes more pronounced when composite is reinforced with coarser particles. This is attributed to the fact that adhesion and micro-plowing-type wear mechanism is predominant for ner-size particle, whereas particle cracking, subsurface deformation and delamination and ake removal are the dominating wear mechanisms for coarser-size particles. Straffelini et al. [20] also came into similar type of conclusion that overaged composites provide higher wear resistance than the underaged one in extruded as well as in forged condition. They clearly demonstrated that wear resistance decreases with increase in composite hardness. According to these investigators, the mixed layer formed over the composite surface is signicantly hard and higher hardness of under laying material is not able to retain this mixed layer adequately. As a result, increased plastic strain is required for softening of mixed layer and subsequent activation for delamination of the layer on composite surface having lower hardness and higher ductility. Li and Tandon [21] on A356SiC composite observed that aged samples exhibit marginally higher wear resistance than that of the as-cast one even though the hardness of the former one is signicantly higher than that of the latter one. They explained this fact on the basis of precipitation behaviour. In situ precipitation occurs in the subsurface during sliding wear of the as-cast composite which leads to increase in hardness of subsurface, whereas coarsening of existing precipitates take place in age hardened one which leads to decrease in hardness of subsurface. The precipitation and coarsing of precipitates are occurred due to sliding induced frictional heating and subsurface deformation. Venkataraman and Sundararajan [11] reported similar behaviour for 7075 alloy in peak-aged and solution-treated conditions. The transition load and wear resistance are not improved due to aging of the alloy even though the hardness of the peak-aged one is twice than that of the solution-treated one. In a nutshell, wear performance of the composite may not be a dependent only on matrix hardness but also on other factors like sliding induced plastic deformation, stress relaxation in overaging, matrix particle interface characteristics and precipitation behaviour. There may be a strong interaction with speed and applied load which determine the surface temperature and deformation zone and which plays an important role in wear mechanism. In recent times, attention is being paid to the use of high strength AlZnMg alloys for structural applications in aerospace and general engineering sectors. However, Li and Tandon [22] reported that these materials are of poor weldability. Thus, most of these materials are joined either by riveting or bolting, and hence there is a greater possibility of vibration/oscillation in these regions, which in due course might be leading to fretting and sliding type of wear in dry conditions. This demands the need to examine the dry sling wear behaviour of these alloy systems. However, Venkataraman and Sunderarajan [11] reported that limited attempt has been made to examine the wear behaviour of 7XXX Al-alloy in as-cast and heattreated conditions. Dry-sliding wear behaviour of 7009 alloy especially as compared to the 7009SiC composite is lacking even though they have good potential to be used as airplane structural sheets and armour materials.

study. The alloy has the chemical composition of Fe0.29%, Cu0.01%, Mg1.63%, Zn5.85%, Alrest. The composite was synthesized through solidication processing (stir-casting) route using SiC particle of size range 2040 mm as reinforcement. The process involved melting the alloy, incorporation of preheated SiC particles in the melt through mechanical stirring and casting of the composite melt in the preheated permanent cast iron mould. The alloy melt was also cast in same permanent cast iron die in the form of cylinder of 200 mm in length and 16 mm in diameter. For microstructural examinations, samples were cut from the cast disc and polished metallographically using standard metallographic technique and nally etched with Kellors reagent. Etched samples were examined under scanning electron microscope (SEM) (Model: JEOL, JSM-5600). 2.2. Heat treatment The alloy and composites were heat treated in a Mufe electric furnace. Three stages involved during heat treatment of the investigated material (AA7009) are: (i) solution treatment: the alloy or composite are heated for 8 h at a temperature of 490 1C until the alloying solute elements are completely dissolved in Al solid solution, (ii) quenching: the solution-treated material is cooled rapidly in water to prevent the precipitation of the solute elements and to obtain a super saturated solid solution and (iii) articial aging: hardening can be done by reheating the quenched alloy to a temperature of 180 1C for 4, 6, 8 and 10 h in order to get the better properties. 2.3. Microscopy For microstructural studies of AA7009 alloy and silicon carbide particle reinforced Al composites in as-cast and heat-treated conditions, samples of dimensions 20 mm diameter and 15 mm thick were cut and cold mounted. The specimens were mechanically polished using standard metallographic practices and etched with Kellors reagent (1% HF, 1.5% HCl, 2.5% HNO3 and remaining water) prior to their microstructural examination by optical (Leitz Metalloplan) and scanning electron microscopy (Model: JEOL, JSM-5600). The samples were sputtered with gold prior to scanning electron microscopic examination. 2.4. X-ray diffraction X-ray diffraction study of the samples was conducted using Cu Ka radiation at a scan speed of 0.011/s in a Phillips X-ray diffractometer (Model: Phillips 1710). The samples were cleaned with acetone and dried in air prior to X-ray diffraction studies. 2.5. Hardness The hardness of the alloy and composite were measured in a Vickers hardness tester using a load of 5 kg. For hardness measurement, the samples were polished in such ways that opposite sides are parallel to each other. In each sample, 10 indentations were taken and the average hardness value along with standard deviations was reported. During hardness measurement, precaution was taken to get the indentation at a distance of at least twice the diagonal length of the previous indentation. The grain size of the samples was determined using the random intercept method [23]. For each sample, intercepting lines are placed in such a way that at least 1000 grains are intercepted by the lines. The volume fraction of SiC in the composite samples were measured following the point counting technique using an

2. Experimental 2.1. Material An AlZnMg (7009) alloy and 700910, 15 and 25 wt% silicon carbide (SiC) particle composite have been used for the present

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optical microscope on 20 randomly selected regions at a magnication of 50 [23].

2.6. Sliding wear test Sliding wear tests were conducted in pin-on-disc wear testing apparatus (Model: TR20-LE, Ducom Make, Bangalore, India) under varying applied loads at a xed sliding speed of 3.35 m/s against steel disc of hardness 500 Hv. The pin samples were 27 mm in length and 8 mm in diameter. The surfaces of the pin sample and the steel disc were ground using emery paper (grit size 240) prior to each test. A set of pins was subjected to running-in-wear at an applied load of 10 N (applied pressure 0.2 MPa) up to a sliding distance of 5000 m against the steel disc at a speed of 3.35 m/s. In order to ensure effective contact of fresh surface with the steel disc, the fresh samples were subjected to sliding on emery paper of 240 grit size xed on the steel disc. During sliding, the load is applied on the specimen through cantilever mechanism and the specimens were brought in intimate contact with the rotating disc at a track radius of 65 mm (Fig. 1) The samples were cleaned with acetone and weighed (up to an accuracy of 0.01 mg using microbalance) prior to and after each test. The wear rate was calculated from the weight loss measurement and expressed in terms of volume loss per unit sliding distance. The temperature rise and friction force were recorded from the digital display interfaced with the wear test machine. In order to record the temperature, the bare end of a chromelalumel thermocouple was inserted into a small drill hole (1.5 mm diameter) in the lateral surface of the specimen, at a distance of 1.5 mm away from the contacting surface. Hence, the sample is held in such a way that 3 mm of sample remains outside the holder (i.e. the distance between the contact surface and the sample holder is maintained to almost 3 mm). In these tests, the temperatures recorded are the temperature of the position at which thermocouple is kept; actual temperatures at the contacting surface would be more than the recorded ones. Coefcient of friction was computed from the recorded frictional force and the applied load (i.e. the ratio of frictional force to the applied load). A set of three samples was tested in every experimental condition, and the average along with standard deviation for each set of three tests is measured. The wear tests were conducted either up to a sliding distance of 5000 m or up to the distance at which the material seized, the one which occurs earlier. The occurrence of

seizure was dened by the generation of abnormal sound and vigorous vibration during the test, and sudden increase in frictional force and temperature rise (because of adhesion between the two contact surfaces under high temperature rise and frictional force). Sticking of material (displaced material from the specimen surface) was also noted on the steel disc by naked eye. The applied load (pressure) and sliding distance are recorded when the specimen gets seized for calculation of seizure pressure, coefcient of friction and wear rate. 2.7. Worn surface and subsurface analysis The surface roughness parameter (Ra) of the samples, before conducting tests, was measured using the Talysurf apparatus (Talysurf-6). The samples were mounted with adhesives on a metallic sample holder, and then the base surface of the specimen was brought into contact with the probe of the apparatus, the probe was moved on the specimen surface from one edge to the opposite edge (movement by 8 mm) in ve randomly selected directions. The Ra value is recorded from the digital display for each direction and their average was reported. The worn surfaces were examined using the scanning electron microscope (Model: JEOL-JSM5600). For subsurface observation, the worn samples were cut transversely, and then cold mounted in such a way that the subsurface could be polished. After polished and etching, using standard metallographic practice, the subsurfaces were examined using SEM.

3. Results 3.1. Microstructure An AlZnMg (AA7009) alloy (as cast, heat treated) and composite are mechanically polished, etched with Kellors reagent and observed in the scanning electron microscope. Fig. 2a shows a typical optical micrograph of AlZnMg (AA7009) alloy which depicts dendrites of aluminium and precipitates along the dendrite boundaries. The interdendritic spacing, i.e., space between two neighboring dendrites, is measured to be around 6070 mm. A higher magnication micrograph of Fig. 2b shows the dendrite of aluminium (marked A) and the precipitates in the interdendritic regions (arrow marked). A typical scanning electron micrograph of AlZnMg heat-treated alloy (Fig. 2c) shows the aluminium phase ,(black) in color, and precipitates, (white) in color, distributed in the Al matrix. A higher magnication micrograph of AlZnMg clearly shows the formation of precipitates found in the Al matrix (Fig. 2d). The morphology of the precipitates varies from equiaxed to lamellar. The equiaxed precipitates are of 25 mm in size. The lamellar precipitates are usually around 1015 mm in length, and 23 mm in width. Fig. 2(e) shows a typical micrograph of AlZnMg (AA7009)10 wt% SiC particle, it shows uniform distribution of SiC particle in Al matrix. A higher magnication micrograph (Fig. 2f) clearly depicts the interface between the aluminium matrix and SiC particle. It also shows good interface bonding between Al matrix and SiC particle (Table 1). X-ray diffractogram of AlZnMg alloy in as-cast condition is shown in Fig. 3. Comparing experimental values with the standard values obtained from JCPDS card identied the major peaks of aluminium and minor peaks of intermetallic phases such as MgZn2 and Al2Mg3 found in AlZnMg alloy. Similarly, the major peaks of aluminium and minor peaks of a-moissonite form of SiC particles, and that of intermetallic phases such as MgZn2 and AlZn2 were found in the composite in Fig. 4.

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of pin-on-disc test set up.

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SiC

Matrix

Interface

Fig. 2. Microstructure of alloy and composite: (a) optical micrograph of cast alloy, (b) a higher magnication micrograph of as-cast alloy, (c) scanning electron micrograph of heat-treated Al alloy, (d) a higher magnication micrograph of heat-treated aluminium alloy, (e) as-cast composite and (f) higher magnication micrograph of as-cast composite.

Table 1 Chemical composition of the experimental alloy and composite. Element (wt%) AA7009 Fe 0.29 Cu 0.01 Mn Mg 1.63 Zn 5.85 Al Rest

It is noted that the hardness is improved by around 2030% due to addition of 25 wt% SiC particle. Density of the investigated materials is also provided in this table. It is noted that the density of the alloy is higher than that of the composite even though the density of silicon carbide is higher than that of the alloy. This attributed to increased porosity due to addition of SiC particles. These density values are used for calculating wear rate of the materials from the weight loss measurement.

3.2. Hardness and density measurement The average hardness values along with the associated standard deviation of the investigated materials are shown in Table 2. Following trends are evident from the table: (i) hardness is improved due to heat treatment irrespective of the material, (ii) maximum hardness are noted when the materials are aged for 6 h, (iii) addition of SiC particles in the matrix enhance the hardness of the virgin alloy and (iv) the hardness of composite increases with increase in SiC content. Thus, there is an improvement of 510% in hardness values due to aging. It is further noted that hardness values of composite increased by 1012% by addition of 10 wt% SiC particles. The hardness values of 10 and 15 wt% SiC reinforced composites exhibit more or less same hardness values. However, the hardness values improved signicantly due to addition of 25 wt% SiC particles in the matrix irrespective of the matrix alloy.

3.3. Effect of heat treatment on wear rate Fig. 5a represents the wear rate as a function of different samples at an applied pressure of 1.2 MPa, at a xed sliding velocity of 3.35 m/s for an alloy and composites in as-cast and heat-treated conditions in the form of bar diagram. It is evident from the gure that the wear rate is signicantly higher than that of composites when the samples are aged for 6 h. It is further noted that the wear rate decreases with increasing aging time i.e, 46 h, but on the contrary when the materials aged for longer duration (46 h) the wear rate again increases. Similar observations were also made in case of Al10/15 wt% SiC reinforced composites. It is interesting to note that in each and every tested sample the wear rate curve maintain u shape. In case of Al25 wt% SiC reinforced composite, the wear rate reduces considerably due to aging. This gure in general demonstrates

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4000 [counts] 3500 3000 2500 Counts 2000 A 1500 1000 500 0 20 40 B

X-ray diffractogram of Al-alloy (Al-Zn-Mg) Identified Phases: A-Aluminium B-MgZn2 C-Al2Mg3

A B,C 60 2

A A 80 A 100 []

Fig. 3. X-ray diffractogram of Al-alloy (peaks of Al, MgZn2, Al2Mg3).

[counts] 5000 4000 A Counts 3000 A 2000 D 1000 B,C 0 0 20 40 60 2

Fig. 4. X-ray diffractogram of composite (peaks of Al, MgZn2, AlZn2, SiC, etc.).

X-ray diffractogram of composite (Al-Zn-Mg-SiC) Identified Phases: A-Aluminium B- MgZn2, C- AlZn2, D-SiC

D C 80 C 100 A [2] 120

Table 2 Hardness and density values of investigated materials Material Alloy (AC) Alloy (6HT) 10%SiCp (AC) 10%SiCp (6HT) 15%SiCp (AC) 15%SiCp (6HT) 25%SiCp (AC) 25%SiCp (6HT) Hardness (Hv) 95 101 113 115 116 128 138 142 Density (gm/cm3) 2.73 2.71 2.67 2.68 2.71 2.70 2.71 2.72

of trend was observed in all types of tested samples at different aging conditions. The results, thus, demonstrate that temperature is increased or decreased by around 5 1C due to aging irrespective of materials and addition of SiC improves the seizure temperature by around 7 1C. 3.5. Effect of heat treatment on coefcient of friction Fig. 5c represents the coefcient of friction of different materials at an applied pressure of 1.2 MPa and sliding velocity of 3.35 m/s for alloy and composites in as-cast and heat-treated conditions in the form of bar diagram. This gure clearly depicts that the coefcient of friction increases with increasing SiC content irrespective of aging time, but decreases with increase in aging treatment, this gure also demonstrates that the coefcient of friction is maintained at minimum 6 h of aging time at all tested samples. But, there is no denite trend for comparison of coefcient of friction between alloy and composite. At lower aging conditions the alloy in as-cast condition exhibits the higher value of coefcient of friction, further increase in aging time the reverse is true. For example, 10 and 15 wt% SiC reinforced composite exhibits almost same trend, but reverse is true for alloy and 25 wt% SiC composite. For example, the coefcient of friction at 6 h of aging time for alloy 10, 15 and 25 wt% SiC reinforced composites is noted to be 0.56, 0.61, 064 and 0.74, respectively. Similarly at 10 h of aging time, the coefcient of

that aging leads to marginal decrease in wear rate, 6 h of aging time leads to the minimum wear rate irrespective of materials.

3.4. Effect of heat treatment on temperature rise Fig. 5b shows temperature as a function of investigated materials at an applied pressure of 1.2 MPa, at a sliding velocity of 3.35 m/s. It is evident from the gure that the temperature rise follows the same trend in all the materials at different aging times. The temperature rise decreases with increasing aging time and reaches to the minimum at 6 h of aging, subsequently the temperature increases substantially for 8 h of aging time, this type

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3
AC 4 hrs 6 hrs 8 hrs 10 hrs

140 120 Temperature, C 100 80 60 40 20 0

-A llo y 0% Si C 5% Si C 5% Si C -A llo y 0% Si C 5% Si C 5% Si C 09 C
1.8(2400) 1.8(2800) 1.8(3300) 1.8(2000) 1.8(2720 ) AC 4 hrs 6 hrs 8 hrs 10 hrs

2.5 Wear Ratex10-12, m3/m 2 1.5 1 0.5 0

09

-1

-1

-2

09

-1

-1

70

09

09

09

70

09

70

70

70

70

70

09

0.9 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

y C C C llo Si Si Si -A 0% 5% 5%

Seizure Pressure, MPa

Coefficient of Friction

2 1.5 1 0.5 0

1.4(4240) 1.6(1120) 1.6(3200) 1.6(440) 1.6(1600)

1.6(1600) 1.8(2100) 1.8(3140) 1.8(1220) 1.8(980)

2.5

llo

Si

Si

-A

0%

5%

09

-1

-1

-2

09

-1

-1

70

09

09

09

70

09

09

70

70

70

70

70

Fig. 5. Heat treatment of alloy and composite: (a) wear rate; (b) temperature rise; (c) coefcient of friction; (d) seizure pressure.

friction for the alloy 10, 15 and 25 wt% SiC reinforced composites are noted to be 0.57, 0.65, 0.69 and 0.76, respectively. 3.6. Effect of heat treatment on seizure pressure The pressure at which the materials get seized is termed as seizure pressure. The material cannot perform when the pressure reaches to the seizure point. Hence, in the present study the seizure pressure of the alloy and composites are noted at xed sliding velocity and different aging condition in Fig. 5d. The numerical value over the bars represents the seizure pressure and specic sliding distance (in the parenthesis) at which the material gets seized as shown in Table 3. It is noted from the gure that the seizure pressure is less in as-cast condition as compared to that in aged conditions. But for aged condition samples the seizure pressure remains unchanged with aging time. Subsequently, there is no much inuence due to aging on 15 as well as 25 wt% SiC reinforced composites. For example, when an alloy in as-cast condition is seized at an applied pressure of 1.4 MPa and further is aged to 4 h, the seizure pressure increases to 1.6 MPa. The seizure pressure of heat-treated alloy at 4, 6, 8 and 10 h is noted to be same (1.6 MPa). Similarly for 700910 wt% SiC reinforced composite the seizure pressure is noted to be 1.6 MPa in as-cast condition, which is improved to 1.8 MPa after 4, 6 and 10 h of aging. In case of 15, 25 wt% SiC reinforced composites the seizure

Table 3 Seizure pressure and seizure distance is in parenthesis of alloy and composite at different aging conditions. Alloy As-cast 4h 6h 8h 10 h 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 (4240) (1120) (3200) (440) (1600) 10%SiCp 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 (1600) (2100) (3140) (1220) (980) 15%SiCp 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 (2400) (2800) (3300) (2000) (2720) 25%SiCp 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 (4120) (3620) (4360) (3600) (1400)

pressure in both as-cast and heat-treated conditions is noted to be 1.8 and 2.0 MPa, respectively. It is further noted that in heattreated condition the seizure pressure of 10, 15 wt% SiC composites are same (1.8 MPa). However, it is interestingly to be noted that in heat-treated condition even though the seizure pressure is same, the distance traveled before seizure is noted to be maximum, when the sample is aged for 6 h. For example, in case of Al15 wt% SiC composite the as-cast sample seized at a distance of 2800 m, when it is aged for 4 and 6 h the distance traveled before seizure is noted to be 2800 and 3300 m, respectively. Further, increasing aging time to 8 and 10 h the sliding distance before seizure is noted to be 2200 and 2700 m, respectively. Once again if we compare seizure conditions of 10

70

09

-2

5%

Si

2.0(4120) 2.0(3620) 2.0(4360) 2.0(3600) 2.0(1400)

0.8

AC

4 hrs

6 hrs

8 hrs

10 hrs

AC

4 hrs

6 hrs

8 hrs

10 hrs

70

-2

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and 15 wt% SiC reinforced composites it is noted that the seizure pressure is same (1.8 MPa) for both the materials. However, 15 wt% SiC reinforced composite traveled longer sliding distance before seizure. For example, distance traveled prior to seizure by 10 and 15 wt% SiC reinforced composites when aged for 6 h are noted to be 3140 and 3300 m, respectively. This indicates that increase in SiC content have positive effect on seizure.

3.8. Wear surface of alloy and composite The wear surface of alloy at an applied pressure of 0.2 MPa and sliding speed of 640 rpm (3.35 m/s) after a sliding distance of 5000 m, it shows formation of continuous wear grooves (marked A) and some damaged regions Fig. 7a (arrow marked). Increasing the applied pressure, the wear grooves are observed to be more pronounced and the number of damaged regions (arrow marked) are observed to be more. However, the degree of formation of cracks on the wear surface is not much. At an applied pressure of 1.0 MPa, the wear surface is depicted as a series of parallel transverse as well as longitudinal cracks (marked A) and damaged portion (marked B) (Fig. 7b). At the seizure pressure of the sample, wear surface is characterized by the formation of parallel lips (marked A) along the groove marking (Fig. 7c). SEM observation of SiC particle composite, at an applied pressure of 0.2 MPa, is shown in Fig. 7d. It indicates continuous grooves (marked A) and patches of damaged regions (arrow marked). It is interesting to be noted that during the wear process, the aky shaped debris are formed essentially by the joining of longitudinal and the transverse cracks (marked A). Fig. 7e clearly shows debris particles, which is about to fall off (marked A) from the wear surface. At an applied pressure of 1.8 MPa, 700910 wt% SiC composite is seized and the wear surface is signied by the formation of parallel lips (marked A) Fig. 7f.

3.7. Effect of aging time on hardness Fig. 6 represents aging time as a function of hardness for different SiC concentration of the materials, the trend of the hardness is almost constant with aging time for all the samples. It is interestingly to note that maximum hardness is noted when the materials are aged for 6 h. Overall there is not much inuence on hardness due to aging for individual material. But, hardness is signicantly higher due to addition of SiC particle.

180 160 140 Hardness, Hv 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 0 2 4 6 AgingTime, hrs

Fig. 6. Aging time versus hardness of the materials.

3.9. Scanning electron microscopic examination of subsurface A typical scanning electron subsurface microstructure (Fig. 8a) of alloy at an applied pressure of 0.2 MPa and speed of 3.35 m/s after a sliding distance of 5000 m. This gure shows a thin deformed region (TDR) of 10 mm thickness; the extent of subsurface deformation is less in this case. Just below the partially deformed region, the undeformed region (UDR) can be seen. Fig. 8b clearly shows a highly deformed region of thickness 50 mm and just below the highly deformed, partially deformed region (PDR) can be seen. Below the partially deformed region, the undeformed region is seen. It is interesting to be noted that the Al metal which is solidied in interdendritic manner ows due to load and the sliding action. The ow of Al dendrite can be seen in less deformed region. Fig. 8c shows, highly deformed region, of

7009 - Alloy 7009 - 10%SiC 7009 - 15%SiC 7009 - 25%SiC 8 10 12

A A A B

Fig. 7. A typical scanning electron micrograph of wear surface of (a) alloy at an applied pressure of 0.2 MPa, (b) alloy at an applied pressure of 1.0 MPa, (c) alloy at seizure pressure, (d) composite at an applied pressure of 0.2 MPa, (e) composite at an applied pressure of 1.0 MPa and (f) composite at seizure pressure.

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UDR

PDR UDR

MML

PDR UDR

MML PDR MML SiC UDR UDR

MML

Fig. 8. Subsurface microstructure of (a) alloy at an applied pressure of 0.2 MPa, (b) alloy at an applied pressure of 1.0 MPa, (c) seizure pressure of alloy, (d) composite at an applied pressure of 0.2 MPa, (e) composite at an applied pressure of 1.0 MPa and (f) seizure pressure composite.

the order of 20 mm, partial deformed region, which extended upto a distance of 40 mm. This gure also clearly depicts the ow of Al dendrites along the direction of sliding. The above studies in SEM observation of subsurface of alloy suggest the following: (i) the depth of highly deformed region increases with the applied load, (ii) there is ow of Al along the direction of sliding and (iii) the voids are usually formed at the interface of intermetallic phase and Al dendrites and joining of voids lead to formation of wear debris. The SiC reinforced composites were also sectioned and the subsurface deformation was observed using scanning electron microscope. It clearly shows highly deformed regions and SiC particle in the partially deformed region, at an applied pressure of 0.2 MPa (Fig. 8d). In the case of composite, the SiC particles are found intact in the subsurface region, there is not much effect of particle in the subsurface region. Even at higher load conditions the particles are found intact and there is no fragmentation of particle observed. Fig. 8e clearly shows entrapment of SiC particle in the deformed region. Fig. 8f shows a typical subsurface of seizure sample of pressure 2.0 MPa which clearly shows highly deformed region (MML) (marked A) which is extended up to a distance of 60 mm. Overall observation of subsurface of 7xxxSiC composite states that the mode of deformation is more or less same irrespective of the concentration of SiC particle. In the case of high concentration of SiC particle the material seizes at higher load, and on that case the SiC particle tends to crack. This was not observed in Al10 wt% SiC composites because the material seizes at low-load condition. The other phenomenon such as voids formation and joining of voids are also prevailed in the case of composite material.

4. Discussion An attempt has been made to discuss the results obtained on the microstructure of aluminium alloy and composites, sliding wear behaviour of alloy and composites in terms of wear rate, seizure pressure, coefcient of friction, frictional heating at different aging treatments. In the discussion of microstructure, emphasis has been given on the distribution of reinforcing phase and intermetallic precipitates in alloy and composites in as-cast and heat-treated conditions and interfacial characteristics between matrix and reinforcing phase. The variation of microstruc-

ture in as-cast and heat-treated conditions has also been discussed. Further more attempt has been made to discuss prevailing wear mechanism on different alloys and composites as a function of reinforcement content, applied load and sliding speed from wear surface and subsurface examination. The microstructure of as-cast aluminium alloy shows Al dendrites and secondary intermetallic phases around the dendrites. In the present study, the alloying elements like Zn, Mg, Cu in the alloy are noted to be higher than that of their solubility limit. As a result during casting the intermetallic phases such as MgZn2, MgZn, AlZn, Al2Mg3 and Al2CuMg are formed around the dendrites, these phases have been conrmed by X-ray diffraction study (Fig. 3). After heat treatment, the dendrite structure becomes more uniform with equiaxed grain structure, whereas intermetallic precipitates are distributed both in grain boundaries and within the grains. The precipitates along the grain boundaries are noted to be coarser and more elongated, whereas the precipitates within the grains are noted to be much ner. This is primarily attributed to higher diffusivity of elements along the grain boundaries as compared to that in the grains. The higher magnication micrograph depicted that in as-cast condition, some of the precipitates along the interdendritic region are of eutectic type (Fig. 2b). However, homogenization treatment and subsequent aging leads to dissolution of eutectic phase and formation of uniformly distributed ne intermetallic precipitates in the matrix. The nature of phases in the matrix and in composite system is noted to be almost same as that of virgin alloy. The presence of SiC particle leads to thermal mismatch stress in the surrounding matrix which in turn results in increase in dislocation density within the matrix. Increased dislocation density increases the solubility limits of the alloying elements and also to some extent inuences the precipitation characteristics. As a result, in composite material formation of some of the intermetallic precipitates gets suppressed. In this case, only the precipitates of intermetallic phase of Al, Zn and Mg are formed. But the afnity of Zn with Mg is more, and hence primarily intermetallic precipitates of MgZn2 and MgZn are formed in AlZnMg alloySiC composite (Fig. 4). All these precipitates are conrmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The SiC particles are more or less uniformly distributed within the matrix (Fig. 2e) and these particles are trapped within the primary aluminium dendrites instead of interdendritic region. This is primarily because of very less amount of interdendritic

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phase and the dimension of interdendritic region is comparably less than that of the particle diameter. The interface between SiC particle, and Al matrix acts as nucleating agent for the intermetallic precipitates during heat treatment, and thus large amount of precipitates of relatively coarser size are identied at the interfacial region (Fig. 2f). Because of higher dislocation density around the reinforcing particle, the growth of precipitates is higher in these regions and as a result relatively coarser precipitates are found in these areas. This signies inhomogeneous precipitation in composites as compared to that in alloy. However, it is generally found that intermetallic precipitates are formed either in as-cast/heat-treated alloy or in composites. Heat treatment of aluminium alloy and composite leads to precipitation hardening and maximum hardness is obtained at peak-aging time of 6 h. On this line it is expected that minimum wear rate could be obtained at peak-aging time for 6 h. This is exactly observed in the present study irrespective of alloy and composite (Fig. 5a). Due to overaging (coarsening of precipitates) the hardness of alloy and composite gets reduced, and thus the wear rate again increases with increasing aging time. Coarsening of precipitates alters the contact between the counter surfaces, which may cause reduction in wear rate even at overaged condition (700925 wt% SiC). The aging is a phenomenon of precipitation, which is dictated by the combined effect of time and temperature. The precipitation kinetics and coarsening of precipitates are strongly inuenced by temperature. During sliding there is signicant frictional heating especially at higher applied pressure and higher sliding velocity. The surface temperature is expected to be considerably higher than the recorded temperature. As a result, as-cast samples undergo overaging during sliding. Similar facts are held true for underaged and peak-aged samples. Subsurface observation also demonstrates that the precipitates in the region are almost of similar characteristics. The physical properties of the alloy such as thermal conductivity, specic heat, oxidation behaviour and melting temperature are not being varied with aging time. Because of these facts, the seizure pressure and temperature rise are signicantly high in alloy and composites which are almost invariant to aging time (Fig. 5b). However, because of initial surface condition, the sliding distance moved by the specimen before seizure is varying to some extent with aging time. In most of the cases, distance traveled before seizure is noted to be maximum for samples aged for 6 h (Fig. 5d). However, the overall effect of aging on seizure pressure or wear resistance is noted to be insignicant. Because of these facts, the as-cast sample of other alloy and composites are compared with the samples aged to 6 h. The improvement in the seizure resistance of different alloys and composite systems with respect to the as-cast alloy are calculated in Table 4. This table suggests that irrespective of matrix alloy, there is marginal improvement in seizure pressure of as-cast alloy to the heattreated alloy. It is noted that the seizure pressure is improved by around 1014% due to heat treatment, as well as all types of tested samples. This is primarily attributed to lower temperature rise on the subsurface. This table also indicates that the seizure pressure of composites hardly affected when SiC content increases from 10 to 15 wt%. This may be attributed to the fact that hightemperature owbility of the composite may not be changing when SiC content increased from 10 to 15 wt%. The surface characteristics and physical properties of the materials are marginally affected due to heat treatment. Because of this fact the maximum temperature rise and maximum coefcient of friction are noted to be almost invariant to the heat-treating condition. The maximum variation in temperature rise is noted to be only 810 1C amongst the as-cast and different-aged specimens (Fig. 5b). Similarly, maximum variation in coefcient of friction is noted to be only 0.02 (Fig. 5c). This signies clearly that the heat

Table 4 The percentage improvement in seizure pressure of AlZnMg (AA 7009) alloy. Material Alloy (AC) Alloy (6HT) 10%SiC (AC) 10%SiC (6HT) 15%SiC (AC) 15%SiC (6HT) 25%SiC (AC) 25%SiC (6HT) Percentage improvement 0 14.2 28.5 28.5 28.5 28.5 42.8 42.8

treatment has no signicant effect on frictional heating, coefcient of friction and seizure pressure. 5. Conclusions Following conclusions can be drawn from the present studies: 1. The microstructure of as-cast aluminium alloy shows primary Al dendrites and secondary intermetallic phases around the dendrites. After heat treatment the dendrite structure is broken down and becomes more uniform with equiaxed grain structure, whereas intermetallic precipitates are distributed both in grain boundary and within the grains. The precipitates along the grain boundaries are noted to be coarser and more elongated, whereas the precipitates within the grains are noted to be much ner (sub-micron size). 2. The interface between SiC particle and Al matrix acts as nucleating agent for the intermetallic precipitates during heat treatment, and thus large amount of precipitates of relatively coarser size are identied at the interfacial region. 3. Hardness is improved due to heat treatment irrespective of the material. Maximum hardness is noted when the materials are aged for 6 h. Addition of SiC particles in the matrix enhances the hardness of the virgin alloys. 4. Heat treatment of the aluminium alloy and composite leads to precipitation hardening and maximum hardness is obtained at peak-aging time of 6 h. On this line it is expected that minimum wear rate could be obtained at peak-aging time for 6 h. Sliding wear behaviour of aluminium alloy strongly depends on the surface conditions and the particle additions. Addition of particle in the alloy decreases the wear rate and frictional heating and increases the seizure pressure and seizure temperature. 5. The maximum variation in temperature rise is noted to be only 810 1C amongst the as-cast and different-aged specimens. Similarly, maximum variation in coefcient of friction is noted to be only 0.02. 6. Sliding wear is associated with transfer of counter surface materials and formation and destruction of MML. At lower applied load MML is thinner but stable. At intermediate load MML thickness increases and its iron content increases indicating more stable MML. Above a critical applied load MML becomes unstable and starts getting destroyed. At seizure load MML is totally destroyed. 7. Because of greater degree of abrasive action by the protruded SiC particle on the counter surface, transfer of counter surface material is more in composite sample as compared to the alloy sample. 8. Amongst the aging time used in the present study, 6 h exhibits the highest hardness value and 4 h exhibits the lowest hardness value. Similar trends are noted in heat-treated condition. There is an improvement of 510% in hardness values due to aging.

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