Indian Journal of Engineering & Materials Sciences

Vol. 20, August 2013, pp. 329-333

An experimental investigation on wear test parameters of metal matrix

composites using Taguchi technique
T R Hemanth Kumara*, R P Swamyb & T K Chandrashekarc
a
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Sri Siddhartha Institute of Technology, Tumkur 572 105, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UBDT College of Engineering, Davangere 577 004, India
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Siddharthata Institute of Technology, Tumkur 572 105, India

Received 7 July 2011; accepted 1 April 2013

This study evaluates the influence of wear test parameters such as sliding speed and normal load on dry sliding wear
performance of Al-Cu-Mg/titanium dioxide particle reinforced composites. Three different weight percentages of titanium
dioxide reinforced composite materials are used to conduct the test. Experiments are performed based on the plan of
experiments generated through Taguchi technique. A mathematical model is developed relating wear rate and the test
parameters using multiple regressions and the model is checked for adequacy. The experimental results and the developed
model show that higher sliding speed and titanium dioxide reinforcement will favor for reducing the wear rate of
composites.

Keywords: Orthogonal array, Taguchi technique, Signal-to-noise ratio, Regression analysis

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are engineering
materials that refer to metal based materials
reinforced with particulates, whisker or fiber, which
can produce a considerable alteration in the
physical and mechanical properties of the base alloy.
Metal matrix composites are an important class of
materials with the potential to replace a number of
conventional materials being used in automotive,
aerospace, defense and leisure industries where the
demand for lightweight and high strength components
are increasing1,2. The mechanical components that
undergo sliding or rolling contact, such as bearings,
clutches, seals, guides, piston rings, splines,
brakes and clutches subject to some degree of wear.
Wear is a surface phenomenon that occurs by the
displacement and detachment of materials, because
it usually implies a progressive loss of weight and
alteration of dimensions over a period of time3.
MMCs generally possess superior wear
resistance compared to unreinforced aluminum alloys.
Many researches on the dry sliding wear behavior of
MMCs had been reported4-9. Tribological behavior of
materials depends on many factors such as properties
of material combinations, experimental condition and
type of wear tester. Miyajima et al.10 carried out dry
——————
*Corresponding author (E-mail: hemantkumar.iem@gmail.com)
sliding wear tests using a pin-on-disc wear tester
where the pins were of 0.45% carbon steel and disc
were made of aluminum alloy composites reinforced
with SiC-whisker, Al2O3-fibers and SiC particles.
The result analysis shows that the wear rate of
MMCs decreased with increasing volume fraction
of reinforcing material. Ranganath et al.11 studied
the dry sliding wear of garnet reinforced
Zn-Al metal matrix composites and reported that
wear resistance of the MMCs increases as the
content of the garnet increases. Acharya et al.12
investigated the wear behavior of Al/red mud
composites and reported that the coefficient of friction
decreases as the load increases. The presence of
red mud particles improves the hardness and wear
resistance of the composites.
Fernandez et al.13 used a statistical method, the
factorial experimental design to investigate the
effects of reinforcement, load and abrasive grain
size of Ni based coating alloy. The summary of
the result is grain size exerted the greatest effect
on abrasive wear, followed by reinforcement. The
applied load had a much lower effect and the
environment was found to have a minor effect.
Hariharan et al.14 adopted Taguchi techniques for
optimization of heat treatment factors using design of
experiment. The tribological behavior of aluminum
330 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., AUGUST 2013
metal matrix composite has been studied using a
Taguchi technique by many researchers15,16.
In view of the above, an attempt is made in
this investigation to study the effect of how the
test parameters such as sliding speed, normal load and
titanium dioxide reinforcement and their interaction
on dry sliding wear performance of Al-Cu-Mg
/titanium dioxide particle reinforced composites.
Taguchi approach has been used for the conduction
and analysis of test results. Further, a mathematical
model has been developed relating wear rate and the
test parameters using multiple regressions and the
model was checked for adequacy.
Taguchi technique is one of the powerful tools
used in the design of experiments. Taguchi‘s
parameter design can optimize the performance
characteristics through the settings of design
parameters and reduce the sensitivity of system
performance to the source of variation. The
optimization of the quality characteristics using
Taguchi experiments has received limited attention
among the engineering fraternity. The quality
characteristic refers to performance characteristics
that affect the final product quality which is very
important to the end user17. Quality characteristic
is measured by the deviation of a functional
characteristic from its target value. The change in
quality characteristics of a product under investigation
in response to a factor introduced in the experimental
design is the ‘signal’ of the desired effect. The effect
of the external factors (uncontrollable factors) on the
outcome of the quality characteristic under test is
termed as ‘the noise’.
The signal-to-noise ratio (SN ratio) measures
the sensitivity of the quality characteristic being
investigated in a controlled manner to those of
external influencing factors (noise factors) not
under control. The SN ratio is a transformed figure
of merit, created from the loss function. SN ratio
combines both the parameters (the mean level of
the quality and the variation around this mean)
in a single metric. The aim in any experiment
is always to determine the highest possible
SN ratio for the result (wear rate). A high value
of the SN ratio implies that the signal is much
higher than the random effects of noise factors18.
In Taguchi technique, the experiments are performed
as per the orthogonal array, which is selected
to accommodate the effect of several factors on
the target value.
Experimental
Materials
Aluminum2618 alloy, which contains copper and
magnesium as major constituent, which is used
as matrix material and its composition is given
in Table 1. Titanium dioxide of laboratory grade
was used as a reinforcing material. 4, 6 and 8 wt%
titanium dioxide reinforced Al alloy composite was
produced using stir-casting technique, which was
used by Mahindra et al.19 The aluminum composite
specimens were subjected to solutionizing heat
treatment at 529°C and then quenched in (ice +
water). These specimens are artificially aged for 8 h
at 199° C.
Selection of orthogonal array
In the present study, the experiments were
conducted as per the standard orthogonal array.
The wear parameters chosen for the experiment
were: sliding speed (S) in m/s, normal load (L) in N
and TiO2 reinforcement (R) in wt%. Each parameter
was assigned three levels, which are given in Table 2.
The experiments were performed according to the
L 27 orthogonal array. In the orthogonal array, the
first column was assigned to sliding speed, second
column was assigned to normal load and the
fifth column was assigned to TiO2 reinforcement.
The remaining columns were assigned to their
interactions. The response to be studied is the wear
rate with the objective of ‘smaller is the better’
type of quality.
Experimental procedure
In order to characterize the dry-sliding wear
behavior of the specimens, wear tests were performed
using a pin-on-disc machine, which was similar to
the machine described by Ramesh20. A pin-on-disc
is a classical method commonly used for wear
experiments. During the experiment, the sliding
between the pin and disc may result in wear on
Table 1—Composition of Al 2618 alloy (wt%)
Cu Mg Ni Fe Si Ti Mn Al
2.18% 1.43% 1.1% 0.93% 0.16% 0.04% 0.028% Bal
Table 2—Process parameters with their different levels
Factors Code Units Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Sliding speed S m/s 0.84 1.05 1.26
Load L N 40 60 80
wt % of TiO2 R Wt % 4 6 8
 HEMANTH KUMAR et al.: WEAR TEST PARAMETERS OF METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES 331

both contact surfaces of the pair. To facilitate
measurement, the pin is generally the wearing
member that has a lower hardness. Schematic
diagram of the wear test rig is shown in Fig. 1.
The dimensions of the pin specimen measured
8 mm in diameter and 30 mm height (ASTM G99).
The test specimen was gripped in the wear testing
machine to avoid rolling during the test. The wear
test was conducted as per the orthogonal array of
Taguchi which is given in Table 3. The wear rates
of the specimen are studied for the sliding distance
of 2200 m. Wear test was conducted as per procedure
reported elsewhere21. Each experiment was repeated
twice and average response values (experimental
wear) are given in Table 3.
Prediction of wear rate model
The response function representing the dry
sliding wear behavior of the composite material is
expressed as:
was used to calculate the coefficients of the
polynomial equation. The regression summary of this
model is given in Tables 4 and 5. The mathematical
model as determined by regression analysis is shown
in Eq. (3).
Wear = 0.0187 - 0.0294S + 0.0001L - 0.000266R +
0.0113S2 - 0.000019R2 - 0.000049SL + 0.000619SR –
0.000004LR … (3)
Results and Discussion
Wear mechanism
Wear can be generally described as the removal
of material from a surface in relative motion by
mechanical or chemical processes. Titanium dioxide
reinforced Al-Cu-Mg alloy metal matrix composite
posses superior wear resistance compared with
unreinforced Al alloy. The wear mechanism in
metal matrix composite is different from Al alloy.

Y = f (S, L, R) … (1) Table 3—Orthogonal array of Taguchi matrix for

wear test and test results
where Y is the response to the dry sliding wear. Test Sliding Normal wt% Experimental Signal-
The second order polynomial regression equation speed load (N) of wear rate to-noise
used to represent the wear rate for K factors is (m/s) TiO2 (mm3/N) ratio
given by, 1 0.84 40 4 0.0050 46.0206
2 0.84 40 6 0.0048 46.3752
Y = b0 + b1S+ b2L + b3R + b11S2 + b22L2 + b33R2 +
3 0.84 40 8 0.00433 47.2702
b12SL + b13SR + b23LR … (2) 4 0.84 60 4 0.00656 43.6619
Where b0 is the constant coefficient of the 5 0.84 60 6 0.00618 44.1802
regression equation, the coefficients b1, b2…….. bk 6 0.84 60 8 0.00518 45.7134
are linear constant, b11, b22…. bkk is the quadratic 7 0.84 80 4 0.00758 42.4066
constants and b12, b13… b k-1, k are the interaction 8 0.84 80 6 0.00662 43.5828
9 0.84 80 8 0.00624 44.0963
constant terms. The values of coefficients of the
10 1.05 40 4 0.00359 48.8981
polynomial of the Eq. (2) are calculated by the
11 1.05 40 6 0.00411 47.7232
regression method. The Systat-13 software package 12 1.05 40 8 0.00384 48.3134
13 1.05 60 4 0.00437 47.1904
14 1.05 60 6 0.00423 47.4732
15 1.05 60 8 0.00443 47.0719
16 1.05 80 4 0.00459 46.7637
17 1.05 80 6 0.00489 46.2138
18 1.05 80 8 0.00482 46.3391
19 1.24 40 4 0.00316 50.0063
20 1.24 40 6 0.00311 50.1448
21 1.24 40 8 0.00331 49.6034
22 1.24 60 4 0.00349 49.1435
23 1.24 60 6 0.00373 48.5658
24 1.24 60 8 0.00393 48.1121
25 1.24 80 4 0.00361 46.0206
26 1.24 80 6 0.0038 46.5765
Fig. 1—Schematic diagram of wear test rig 27 1.24 80 8 0.00391 48.1565
332 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., AUGUST 2013

The enhanced wear mechanism in metal matrix they have a significant effect on reducing the wear
composite is because of particulate reinforcement rate of the material. Whereas, normal load applied on
in matrix alloy. The mechanism of material removal the composite material has a positive effect on the
during the wear process of the unreinforced wear rate. The interactions (S*L) and (L*R) have
alloy is by plastic deformation and gouging. negative effects, while (S*R) has a positive effect on
In composite material the wear mechanism is the wear rate. Figure 4 shows that the experimental
by plastic deformation, gouging and fracture of wear rate is slightly higher than the predicted model
reinforcing material (TiO2) leading to the formation value. The predicted values are in close agreement
of a thin layer at the interface, thereby providing with the experimental values.
protection to the matrix material. This phenomenon
is attributed to increase in the wear resistance of
metal matrix composite22. Figure 2 shows the
optical micrograph of wear tracks 8 wt% of titanium
dioxide reinforced aluminum composite material.
The experimental results of the dry sliding wear
rate and the calculated values of the signal-to-noise
ratio are given in Table 3. The highest value of the
SN ratio implies that signal is much higher than
the random effects of noise factors. Figure 3 shows
the interaction plots for SN ratio. The figure clearly
reveals that, the minimum wear rate is obtained,
when the sliding speed is at a higher level, while Fig. 2—Optical micrograph of wear tracks of 8TiO2 MMC
the normal load is at a lower level. The graph also
indicates that the addition of a higher weight % of
titanium dioxide will favor for reducing the wear rate.
Discussion on mathematical model
The theoretical wear rate was calculated using
Eq. (3) and the values are plotted in Fig. 4. The
regression summary (Table 4) shows that the
coefficient of the main factors: sliding speed and
reinforcement have negative value which shows that
Table 4—The adequacy test results of the model
Dependent Wear
N 27
Squared multiple R 0.9349
Adjusted squared multiple R 0.9004
Standard error of estimate 0.0003594 Fig. 3—Interaction plot for the test parameters

Table 5—Regression summary for the wear rate model

Effect Coefficient Standard coefficient T P-value
Constant 0.0187 0.004943 3.79 0.001
S -0.0294 0.007963 -3.70 0.002
L 0.0001 0.000054 2.26 0.038
R -0.000266 0.000541 -0.49 0.630
S*S 0.0113 0.003680 3.09 0.007
L*L -0.0000 0.00000 * *
R*R -0.000019 0.000037 -0.53 0.606
S*L -0.000049 0.000026 -1.90 0.074
S*R 0.000619 0.000259 2.39 0.029
L*R -0.000004 0.000003 -1.55 0.140 Fig. 4—The theoretical and experimental wear rate
 HEMANTH KUMAR et al.: WEAR TEST PARAMETERS OF METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES
Fig. 5—The confirmation test results
Table 6—Confirmation test parameters
Test Sliding Normal wt% of Experimental Signal-
speed (m/s) load (N) TiO2 wear rate to- noise
(mm3/N-m) ratio
1 1.26 20 4 0.00233 0.0017928
2 0.84 20 6 0.00309 0.0035138
3 1.06 20 8 0.0023 0.002459
Verification of adequacy of the model
Table 5 shows the adequacy test results of
the developed model. R2 value is 0.9349, which
shows that 93.4% of experimental data fits the
developed model. The number of factors selected
for this model fits into the regression equation
which is illustrated from adjusted R2 value. Since the
value of R2 is close to the adjusted R2 value, the
model does not appear to be over fit and has
the adequate predictive capability. The predicted
model yields an error of 0.0003594 mm3/m, which
is indicated as standard error of estimate. The
p-value in the regression summary (Table 4) shows
the significance of the individual factors which
is estimated by the regression modeling procedure.
The model estimated at a confidence level of 95%
with a α-risk of 0.05.
Validation of the model
The confirmation experiment was performed, by
conducting three tests using a specific combination
of the factors and levels which are given in Table 6.
The theoretical wear rate was estimated using the
developed model Eq. (3). Figure 5 shows the
deviation of the theoretical wear rate from the
experimental results. Since the experimental values
are very close to the predicted values, the model is
capable of predicting the wear rate in the selected
range values.
333
Conclusions
This paper presented a Taguchi design of
experimental technique to study the effect of wear
parameters on the sliding wear behavior of aluminum
metal matrix composites. The regression model and
signal-to-noise ratio shows that the main factors sliding
speed and reinforcement have a negative influence on
the wear rate, which is favorable for reducing the wear
rate of the composite material. Whereas, normal load
applied on the composite material has a positive effect
on the wear rate. The interactions (S*L) and (L*R) have
negative effects, while (S*R) has a positive effect on
the wear rate. The adequacy test results show that
the model has the adequate predictive capability.
The experimental values are in close agreement with
the predicted values.
References
1 Rhotagi Pradeep, Cast M.M.C. Past, Present & Future, AFS
Transactions, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
Silver Anniversary paper, Div.2. 01-25, 200, (2001)
2 Das S, Trans Indian Inst Metals, 5(4) (2004) 325-334.
3 Surappa M K, Sadhana, 28(1&2) (2003), 319-334.
4 Shashidara S M, Mallikarjuna C & Muralidhara, J Manuf
Eng, 3(1) (2008).
5 Rosenberger M R, Forlerer E & Schvezov C E, Wear, 266
(2009) 356-359.
6 Prabhu Swamy N R, Ramesh C S & Chandrashekar T,
Bull Mater Sci, 33(1)(2010) 49-54.
7 Wlodarczyk–Flingier A & Dobrzeanski Adamiak LA,
J Achieve Mater Manuf Eng, 30(2) (2008) 147-150.
8 Chikanna N, Sankaran P & Mukunda P G, J Manuf Eng, 3(1)
(2008).
9 Benal Mahagundappa M & Shivand H K, Wear, 262 (2007)
759-763.
10 Miyajima T & Iwa Y, Wear, 255 (2003) 606- 616.
11 Ranganath G, Sharma S C & Krishna M, Wear, 251 (2001)
1408-1413.
12 Acharya S K, Prasad N & Shankar Uma, IE (India) J –MM,
87 (2006).
13 Fernandez J Esteban, Fernandez Madel Rocio, Diaz R
Vijande & Tucho Navarro R, Wear, 255 (2003) 38-43.
14 Singh Hari & Kumar Pradeep, Indian J Eng Mater Sci, 11
(2004) 19-24.
15 Basavarajappa S & Chandramohan G, J Mater Sci, 21(6)
(2005) 845-850.
16 Mishra Ashok K, Sheokand Rakesh & Srivastava R K,
Int J Sci Res Publ, 2(10) (2012).
17 Antony J, Int J Adv Manuf Technol, 17 (2001) 134-138.
18 Ross Phillip J, Taguchi techniques for quality engineering,
(McGraw Hill, New York), 2005, 1-179.
19 Mahindra K V & Radhakrishna K, Mater Sci Poland, 25(1)
(2007) 57-67.
20 Ramesh C S, Ahmed R Noor, Mujeeb M A & Abdullah M Z,
Mater Des, 30 (2009) 1632-1637.
21 Uyyuru R K, Surappa M K & Brusethaug S, Wear, 260
(2006) 1248-1255.
22 Chung S & Hwang B H, Tribol Int, 27 (1994) 307-314.