WEAR

Wear 188 (1995) 185-191

Short Communication
Wear behaviour of AA6061 aluminium alloy and its composites
A.B. Gurcan, T.N. Baker *
Department of Metallurgy and Engineering Materials, Universiry of Strathclyde, Glasgow GI IXN, UK
Received 12 October 1994; accepted 2 1 March 1995
Abstract
This study investigates the wear resistance of four AA6061 MMCs together with the monolithic AA6061 alloy, all in the T6 condition,
using a pin-on-disc test. In addition to the widely studied 20 vol.% Saffil MMCs, the present investigation considered a hybrid of 11%
Saffil + 20% Sic, and a high volume fraction Sic, MMC. AA6061 + 60% Sic,. The wear behaviour against P400 Sic grit adhesive bonded
paper and against BS817M40(EN24) steel were explored under an applied load of 9.8 N with a nominal contact pressure of 0.5 MPa.
It was found that after testing against Sic grit, AA6061 + Saffil showed little advantage over the monolithic alloy, but the other three
composites had a significant improvement in wear resistance. The hybrid and the AA6061 + 60% Sic showed the best performance. Only
small improvements were noted for AA6061 + Saffil and AA6061 + 20% Sic over the monolithic alloy, when tested against steel. However,
the addition of 11% Saffil to 20% Sic in the hybrid, resulted in this composite and the AA6061 + 60% Sic being retained in regime I of the
Alpas and Zhang classification, and recording low wear rates.
Keywords: Abrasive; Sliding; Wear; AA606 1 Al alloy; SIC + Saffil; Metal matrix composites
1. Introduction
Metal matrix composites have a potential for enhanced
wear resistance over the unreinforced alloy. This expectation
has normally been found by experiment to be the case [ 11.
While both sliding [ 2,3] and abrasive [ 4-81 wear situations
have been explored, with few exceptions, direct comparison
of data within these different regimes is not very meaningful
because different experimental conditions were employed
during testing on different reinforcements in the MMCs.
It has been reported that the abrasive wear resistance of
particle reinforced MMCs increases with the volume fraction
of particles, under both high and low stress abrasive wear
conditions [4-71. Under low stress abrasion, the larger the
particle size, the higher the relative wear resistance (RWR)
[ 6-81, which is defined as the wear rate of the unreinforced
matrix divided by that of the MMC under the same test con-
ditions [ 11.
However, inconsistencies exist in the literature. Many
examples are known of an increase in the hardness of a mate-
rial being reflected in improved wear resistance [ 11. This is
generally the case for abrasive [ 91 and lubricated sliding wear
* Corresponding author.
[ 51, but for unlubricated sliding situations, there are conflict-
ing reports regarding the role of carbides and oxides and
between different morphologies of these ceramics [ lo]. The
metal matrix composite may exhibit similar [ 111 or even
inferior [ 121 wear resistance to that of the unreinforced alloy.
Wang and Rack [ 131 and Zhang and Alpas [ lo] have
demonstrated that the rate-controlling wear mechanisms may
change abruptly at certain sliding velocities and contact loads,
leading to abrupt increases in wear rate. It is suggested that
many of the conflicting results in the wear literature can be
explained by the three regimes which have been identified,
when the wear rate is considered as a function of test load
[ 10,131.
Aluminium based metal matrix composites have been fab-
ricated by several routes. The liquid route, which includes
squeeze-casting and liquid pressure infiltration techniques
often employs a ceramic preform. In some cases, the preform
consists of short fibres or whiskers and may be combined
with particulate. It is of interest to compare the wear prop-
erties of a metal matrix composite which has this type of
hybrid ceramic reinforcement with those of a single type of
reinforcement. This is the subject of the present research
which was conducted on AA6061 reinforced with SIC par-
ticles, Al,O, whiskers (Saffil) and a mixture of both.
0043-1648/95/$09.50 0 1995 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved
SSDIOO43-1648(95)06639-X
186 A.B. Gurcan. T.N. Baker/ Wear 188 (1995) 185-191
2. Experimental method
Details of the AA6061 (l.l%Mg, 0.76% Si, 0.30% Cu,
0.20% Cr, 0.32% Fe, 0.02% Zn) composites and route of
manufacture are given below.
Material A (AA6061 alloy) was manufactured at Strath-
Clyde University from prealloyed powder, blended in a Tur-
bula T2C mixer in dry conditions at 42 rev min- for 20 min,
placed in aluminium (commercial purity) cans, 50 mm
dia X 70 mm, degassed and hot pressed in a closed die to 50%
reduction in height using a 200 ton capacity Fielding hydrau-
lic press.
Material B (AA6061 + 20 vol.% Saffil) was vacuum sin-
tered and isostatically pressed at the National Engineering
Laboratory, Glasgow (NEL) . The billets were then extruded
at the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington. The Ospray
process was used to manufacture material C
(AA6061 +20 vol.% SIC,) whilst D (AA6061 + 11 vol.%
Saffil+ 20% SIC,) and E (AA6061 + 60 vol.% SIC,) were
produced by Advanced Materials Systems, formerly Cray
Advanced Materials, Yeovil, with the liquid pressure infiltra-
tion (LPI) process.
The a-alumina fibres (RF Saffil, ICI plc) were originally
150 pm in length and 3 p,m in diameter with a final length
after fabrication around 10 pm; Sic, (7 km) was purchased
from Washington Mills for materials D and E. Sic, ( 10 pm)
was used in material C.
All the material was given a T6 heat treatment of 520 C
for two h, water quenched to room temperature, followed by
ageing at 160 C for 18 h and water quenched. Subsequent
studies showed that the use of the T6 conditions, well estab-
lished for AA606 1, resulted in some over-ageing of the com-
posites [ 141. A Vickers hardness tester with a 10 kg load was
used for the hardness data, which was averaged from five
indentations. The results are given in Table 1. The wear
resistance was determined for all materials using a pin-on-
disc test in air under dry sliding conditions and at room
temperature, with an applied load of 9.8 N, giving a nominal
contact pressure of 0.5 MPa and a disc velocity of 0.14 m s -
The pin, which had a diameter of 5 mm _t 0.1 mm, was
machined after the T6 heat treatment using a cooled lubricant
and slow machining speeds to avoid influencing the micros-
tructure.
Table 1
Wear rates of 6061 alloy and composites
Two disc materials were investigated, P400 SIC grit adhe-
sive bonded paper and BS8 17M40( EN24, AISIE4340)
0.36C, 1.65 Ni 1 .OCr 0.3Mo (all weight percent) steel, the
former as an example of a very hard material which might be
present as an abrasive particle in a lubricant and the latter as
a surface which might, in practice, be in contact with MMCs.
The pin-on-disc tester was of a simple design and the pin was
in contact with the same disc track. During a single test, the
Sic, grit paper was replaced every 25 m.
The steel was heat treated at 850 C for 30 min followed
by oil quenching, and tempering at 250 C for 1 h which
raised the HVlo value from 300 to about 600. Hardness meas-
urements were taken across the 70 mm diameter of the steel
disc to check the efficiency of the heat treatment in producing
a homogeneous hardness level. Two indentations were made
in each of twelve positions and gave a hardness of
590 k 23 VPN. The steel discs were cleaned prior to testing,
and before and after each weighing. A new disc was used for
each material tested. The weight loss of the pin was deter-
mined to an accuracy of + 2 X 10e5 g as a function of the
sliding distance, proportional to the number of revolutions of
the disc. Two readings were made for each weighing and the
mean taken. All the tests were duplicated for the SIC grit, but
owing to shortage of material only one set of tests was carried
out using the steel disc. The pin was ultrasonically cleaned
by immersing in methanol for five min before and after each
measurement followed by remounting in the tester in the same
location. The test duration was up to 4 h with a total sliding
distance of approximately 2100 m.
3. Metallographic examination
The microstructures of both the pin and the discs were
examined by optical metallography and by a scanning elec-
tron microscope with facilities for chemical analysis (EDX) .
The prior particle boundaries of the aluminium 6061 pow-
der were clearly visible in material A and weredecorated with
the remaining fragments of the aluminium oxide skin [ 151.
In material B, the Saffil fibres were aligned along the direction
of extrusion, and while the overall distribution of Saffil was
fairly uniform, some clustering was noticeable. The orienta-
tion of the fibres was such that their cross-section was subject
Material Vickers hardness at
10 kg
Density (Mg mm ) Wearrate (mm3 mm)
P400 SiCX IO- BS817M40 steel X 10m4
A 115 2.712 120 7.1
B 114 2.96 70 5.5
C 113 2.81 6 6.2
D 140 2.95 6 0.9
E 156 3.00 1 .o 0.2
Al,% _ 3.96
Sic _ 3.2
A.B. Gurcan, T.N. Baker/ Wear 188 (1995) 185-191 187
to wear testing. Except for some expected porosity in material
C produced by the Osprey process, a well distributed partic-
ulate was observed. The hybrid composite, material D
showed a random orientation of fibres, but areas with a lower
density of particulate were noted. Material E, with a high
loading of Sic, did have evidence of contiguity and a little
porosity was found in these regions owing to poor infilling.
4. Hardness results
The hardness data of the T6 aged alloy and composites is
given in Table 1. Surprisingly, the average hardness values
of material A, B and C was almost identical, but significant
increases in hardness were recorded from the higher volume
fraction reinforcement composites, D and E.
5. Wear results
5.1. P400 Sic grit paper
It can be seen from Fig. 1 that increasing the volume per-
cent of reinforcement, including the hybrid composite,
decreased the weight loss. Furthermore, AA6061 alloy rein-
forced with 20 vol.% Sic particulate was superiorto the com-
posite containing 20 vol.% Saffil which recorded a weight
loss similar to that of the monolithic alloy. Both the compos-
ites containing 20 vol.% Sic, and 20 vol.% Sic, with 11%
Saffil had an almost identical wear resistance. The 60 vol.%
Sic, composite showed the lowest weight loss for the group
tested in this study.
The ranking of AA6061 and the four composites is clearly
shown in Table 1 which allows comparison in terms of the
steady state wear rates, defined as the slope of the wear-
distance plot divided by the density.
5.2. BSBI 7M4O(EN24) steel
Table 1 indicates a significant change in the ranking of the
alloy and composites, compared with sliding against Sic grit.
+ 6061 +20%Saf f I l
- 6061 +2O%S1C
a 6061 + 11%Sai +zO%SI ~
500 1000 1500 2000
Sliding Distance (m)
Fig. 1. Graph of weight loss vs. sliding distance against P400 Sic grit for
AA6061 alloy and composites.

500 1000 1500 2000
Shding Distance (m)
Fig. 2. Graph of weight loss vs. sliding distance against BS817M40 steel for
AA6061 alloy and composites.
Materials A, B and C have similar wear resistance, as seen in
Fig. 2. The weight of material removed by the steel disc is
about two orders of magnitude less than that of the SIC grit.
Further, the slopes of the graphs showed considerable differ-
ences for the two counterface materials, but the influence of
percent reinforcement on the wear resistance was maintained
and material E was again superior in this respect. However,
the hybrid composite showed a better wear resistance than
either materials B and C, which were similar to the alloy.
6. SEM observations
6.1. P400 Sic grit paper
After testing the AA6061 unreinforced alloy, the surface
was characterised by long and continuing grooves as seen at
A in Fig. 3(a). Material B shows a heavily deformed surface
(Fig. 3 (b) ) which may be associated with Sic pick up at A
and B, while the 20% Sic, MMC surface (Fig. 3(c) ) con-
tains heavy scars at A and cracking of crater-shaped areas at
B. The hybrid surface (Fig. 3 (d) ) shows signs of discontin-
ued grooving and possible pick up of debris at A and B. In
contrast, the surface of the 60 vol.% Sic composite showed
only a slight tendency to grooving (Fig. 3 (e) ) owing to the
resistance offered by the high volume fraction of hard partic-
ulate.
The EDX analysis on surfaces of material A and C
observed in the SEM indicated that in the many areas exam-
ined, at least ten per specimen, there were no discernable
signs of pick up of SIC by the pin from the P400 Sic grit
paper. A strong silicon peak was obtained from material B
(20% Saffil) , and as expected, from materials D and E.
6.2. BS8I 7M4O(EN24) steel disc
The AA606 1, material A, revealed patches of highly dam-
aged regions, such as those recorded at A in Fig. 4(a). A
very uneven heavy damage occurred in the 20 vol.% Saffil
188
(a)
Fig. 3. SEM micrographs: (a) AA6061 alloy; (b) AA6061 +20% Saffil; (c) AA6061 +20% Sic,; (ii) hybrid composite; (e) AA6061 +60% Sic,. All
materials abraded against P400 Sic grit.
composite (Fig. 4(b) ) which has been considered as micro-
cutting, microploughing and microchipping, producing long
and continuous grooving (A). Also the presence of features
which could be Saffil fibres parallel to the grooves can be
observed. The 20 vol.% SIC MMC again shows evidence of
grooving. The uneven region above A in Fig. 4(c) shows a
broken fine grooved area with evidence of fine flakes, pos-
sibly displaced iron, iron oxide or aluminium matrix. By
comparison, the surface of the hybrid contains only fine shal-
low clusters, A, Fig. 4(d). The surface of the 60 vol.% SIC
MMC contained no evidence of grooving, but regions indi-
cated as A, Fig. 4(e) , which might have been iron or iron
oxide picked up from the steel disc, were noted.
EDX analysis of the worn surfaces indicated a pick up of
iron during the course of testing. MaEerial B had the lowest
pick up, material E the highest.
7. Discussion
7.1. Materials
The metal matrix composites studied in this project were
all based on AA6061, containing two of the most common
reinforcements used for aluminium based composites, SIC
particulates and RF Saffil whiskers. The SIC particulates were
toward the small end (7-10 p,m) of the size range currently
being assessed for commercial exploitation. 20 vol.% is
close to the upper limit of the reinforcement volume fraction
which can be incorporated by the powder route. For higher
volume fractions, a casting route has been used, and the
liquid pressure infiltration method allowed composites
with mixtures of reinforcement types (hybrids), and
those with greater than 20 vol.% reinforcement to be manu-
factured.
On metallographic examination, all the pin materials (A
to E) showed some defects. The former powder surfaces in
AA6061 were outlined by small particles, probably oxides.
Microporosity was observed to a small degree in all the
composites. In the LPI composites, particularly material D,
some areas of segregation of the reinforcements were
noted and in the 60 vol.% SIC MMC, microporosity between
groups of particulates occurred. However, a fairly
homogeneous distribution of SIC was observed. Materials
B and D showed evidence of fragmentation of Saffil
whiskers.
189
(e)
Fig, 4. SEM micrographs: (a) AA6061 alloy; (b) AA6061 +20% Saffil; (c) AA6061 +20% Sic,; (d)
materials sliding against BS817M40 steel.
7.2. Hardness
The almost identical hardness data (Table 1) obtained
after a T6 heat treatment for materials A, B and C was unex-
pected. This is in contrast to the results of others. For example
Wang and Hutchings [9] found a linear increase in micro-
hardness (500 g) with increasing Saffil volume fraction in
an AA6061 composite manufactured by liquid metal squeeze
infiltration and in the T4 condition. Derby and Walker [ 16 ]
also observed increases in hardness with increase of volume
fraction of Sic from 5 to 30 vol.% after quenching from
above 250 C. However, there have been several studies in
which little difference in the T6 hardness has been recorded
between AA6061 alloy and AA6061 containing 20 vol.%
Saffil [ 17-211. This observation is now recognised as having
its origin in the chemical reaction between Saffil and mag-
nesium, which is removed from the alloy matrix to form a
fine-scale reaction product. Therefore the magnesium
available to precipitate as B-Mg,Si and age-harden the mate-
rial is reduced. Initially it appeared that the situation was
confined to composites manufactured by a liquid metal route,
but a similar situation has been recorded in some liquid phase
sintered composites [ 221.
hybrid composite; (e) AA6061 +60% Sic,. All
7.3. Abrasive wear
It can been seen from the data on the abrasive wear of the
materials against SIC grit, Fig. 1 that the AA6061 alloy,
(material A) and material B appear to fall in one group, while
materials C, D and E, with a similar wear resistance form a
second group. However, materials A, B and C have, within
experimental error, identical hardness values (Table 1).
Thus there would appear to be no simple correlation between
the hardness of these materials and their abrasive wear resis-
tance, an observation which has also been reported in previ-
ous work on aluminium MMCs [9] although others have
reported a linear increase in abrasive wear resistance with
hardness [ 51.
Extensive plastic grooving and ploughing has been widely
observed for AA6061 Al matrix alloy when abraded with SIC
grit, for example Refs. [ 91, [ 231, and the extent of this type
of damage increases with decreasing SIC grit size [ 91. Wang
and Hutchings [ 93 observed for pin-on-disc tests against 600
Sic grit that with AA6061 10 vol.% Saffil, the worn surfaces
showed evidence that both the matrix and the fibres deformed
plastically during wear and that the Saffil reinforcement had
a beneficial effect in reducing wear. While less evidence of
190 A.B. Gurcan. T.N. Baker/ Wear I88 (1995) 185-191
grooving was seen on material B, the surface contained fea-
tures similar to previous work [ 91, such as unfractured fibres,
but also fractured fibres together with regions of plastic defor-
mation, are present.
Zongyi et al. [ 23) have compared, also with a pin on disc
tester, the abrasive wear behaviour of a commercial AA6061
alloy with AA6061 composites containing discontinuous SIC
as whiskers, particulates (3.5 pm mean size) and fibres, fab-
ricated by a powder metallurgy route, against P400 and 600
Sic adhesively bonded paper. They suggested that the reason
for the higher wear rate found with AA6061 Al composites
containing Sic, than with those containing Sic, is that the
ceramic in the former has a greater tendency to agglomerate,
and in these regions is readily worn by the SIC grit. In contrast
to these observations, Fig. 3(c) shows that for material C, in
regions such as B, craters due to the disintegration of the worn
surface into angular sections, lo-20 p,m in size, are found
together with grooves separated by broader widths of
deformed material. This surface had a significantly lower
wear rate than material B, in agreement with the conclusions
of Zongyi et al. [ 23 J
The composites they studied were also in the T6 condition,
and contrary to work on other aluminium alloys, such as
AA7005 [ 251, it was found that the peak aged condition of
the AA6061 Sic, gave the lowest wear rate. The peak hard-
ness of this composite was 135 Hv compared with 150 Hv
for material C. The smaller size of particulate and lower peak
hardness for their composite may account for the higher wear
rate found [ 231 compared with the present work.
7.4. Dry sliding against BS817A44O(E24) steel
Fig. 2 shows that, as in the testing against SIC grit, the
materials slid against the steel discs fall into two groups. The
data in Table 1 indicates that materials D and E have signif-
icantly lower steady state wear rates than materials A, B and
C. Thus the presence of 11 vol.% Saffil incorporated from
the preform used in the liquid pressure infiltration process
together with 20 vol.% SIC (material D) has the effect of
conferring a significant reduction in wear compared with
AA6061 composites with 20 vol.% additions of SIC alone or
20 vol.% Saffil alone, when tested against the steel disc.
Long et al. [24] have investigated the wear, by a pin on
reciprocating steel (SKH-5 1) plate immersed in an ethanol
bath at room temperature under a load of 49 N, of AA6061
alloy reinforced with a hybrid of Saffil fibres and Sic whisk-
ers, produced by a PM route, hot pressed and heat treated to
T6 condition. Using somewhat different test conditions, they
found a similar result to that of the present work, where the
addition of SIC to Saffil/6061 composites gave rise to a
remarkable improvement in the wear resistance compared
with that of SaffiV6061 or Sic/6061 composites. The greater
wear of the Saffil/6061 composite was considered to be due
to some of the Saffil fibres, which were originally dispersed
randomly, being displaced parallel to the wear surface in
which they formed deep grooves. In the hybrid, the SIC
reduced considerably the change in orientation of the Saffil
fibres, resulting in less wear. A close examination of material
B in the SEM shows fibrous features lying on the worn surface
of the pin, as seen in Fig. 4(b), which tentatively supports
the explanation of Long et al [24] for the superior wear
resistance of a Saffil/SiC hybrid 6061 composite. Another
approach to understanding the superior wear resistance of the
hybrid, material D is through a consideration of the classifi-
cation produced by Zhang and Alpas [ lo]. The present
results given in Table 1 and Fig. 2, imply that the addition
of Saffil ( 11 vol.%) to a 20 vol.% AA6061 SIC hybrid results
in this composite being retained in the Zhang and Alpas
regime I, a low wear rate region (as is material E) , whereas
materials A, B and C are, even under a load of 9.8 N, in the
faster wear region, regime II. While the details of the methods
of testing in the present case and that of Zhang and Alpas
differ, as does the reinforcement, the general approach is
similar and the order of the wear rates in both studies com-
parable.
The high wear resistance in regime I was attributed [ 10,251
to the load bearing capacity of the hard reinforcement. During
testing, the exposed portions of the reinforcements are con-
sidered to create a local milling action on the steel counterface
which leads to detached steel fragments being transferred on
to the surfaces of the composite and forming transfer layers
rich in iron and iron oxide. In the present work, scanning
electron microscopy and energy dispersive analysis obser-
vations on materials D and E showed evidence for the for-
mation of a surface film and considerable pick-up of iron.
The iron rich film has low coefficient of friction which con-
tributes to the high wear resistance of the compositematerials
at low loads, such as the 9.8 N used in this work [lo]. In
regime II, the wear mechanisms of the composites were con-
sidered to involve fracture and fragmentation of reinforce-
ment, resulting in the composite matrix coming into direct
contact with the counterface. This situation in turn produces
a significantly higher rate of wear, and may be aggravated by
the pull-out of the reinforcements, leading to three body abra-
sions. The presence of cavities, probably due to particulate
removal, can be observed in Fig. 4(c) for example. The free
particulate could act as third body abraders and be mainly
responsible for the higher wear rate of material C compared
with D and E.
8. Conclusions
1. Pin-on-disc wear tests on AA6061 composites containing
Saffil, Sic, or mixtures of both ceramics against P400 SIC
grit and BS8 17M40 (EN24) steel counterfaces, showed
that composites containing only Saffil had inferior wear
resistance to those containing the same volume fraction
of SIC,.
2. A small increase in the wear resistance over 20% Sic,
AA6061 composites was found for a 11% Saffil + 20%
Sic, hybrid composite when tested against SIC grit.
A.B. Gurcan, T.N. Baker/ Wear 188 (1995) 185-191 191
The greatest wear resistance was observed in the compos-
ite containing 60% Sic,, which had a wear rate over five
times lower than the 20% Sic, composite when tested
against SIC grit and over thirty times lower when tested
against on the steel.
The wear resistance conferred by the combination of Sic
and Saffil in material D, when tested against the steel was
significantly superior to the corresponding wear resistance
of either materials B or C. The weight loss of material D
approached that of the 60% Sic composite. It is worth
noting that while the manufacturing route used for the
hybrid in this work was a liquid route, the volume fraction
of the ceramic of 30% is just within the limit of manufac-
ture by a powder metallurgy route.
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Biographies
T.N. Baker: holds degrees of B.Met., D.Met. (University of
Sheffield), Ph.D. (University of Strathclyde), F.Inst.P.,
F.I.M. and C.Eng. He has held positions in Nelson Research
Labs., English Electric, Stafford, and Tube Investments
Research Labs., Hinxton Hall, near Cambridge, before join-
ing the University of Strathclyde, where he has been lecturer,
senior lecturer, reader and professor. Since 1992 he has held
the 1886 Chair in Metallurgy. His research interests are
broadly in the area of relationships between processing,
microstructures and properties in microalloyed steels, tita-
nium alloys and composites. He has a particular interest in
analytical electron microscopy.
A.B. Gurcan: graduated from the Middle East Technical Uni-
versity, Ankara, in 1990 with High Honours, and was
awarded a British Gas Scholarship to undertake postgraduate
work at the University of Strathclyde, from which he obtained
and M.Sc. before returning to Turkey.