Influence of B4C and ZrB2 reinforcements on microstructural,mechanical and wear behaviour of AA 2014 aluminium matrix hybrid composites

Considering their affordability and high strength-to-weight ratio,lightweight aluminium alloys are the subject of intensive research aimed at improving their properties for use in the aerospace industry.This research effort aims to develop novel hybrid composites based on AA 2014 alloy through the use of liquid metallurgy stir casting to reinforce dual ceramic particles of Zirconium Diboride(ZrB_(2))and Boron Carbide(B4C).The weight percentage(wt%)of ZrB_(2) was varied(0,5,10,and 15),while a constant 5 wt%of B4C was maintained during this fabrication.The as-cast samples have been assessed using an Optical Microscope(OM)and a Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM)with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy(EDS).The properties such as hardness,tensile strength,and wear characteristics of stir cast specimens were assessed to examine the impact of varying weight percentages of reinforcements in AA 2014 alloy.In particular,dry sliding wear behaviour was evaluated considering varied loads using a pin-on-disc tribotester.As the weight%of ZrB_(2) grew and B4C was incorporated,hybrid composites showed higher hardness,tensile strength,and wear resistance.Notably,the incorporation of a cumulative reinforcement consisting of 15 wt%ZrB_(2) and 5 wt%B4C resulted in a significant 31.86%increase in hardness and a 44.1%increase in tensile strength compared to AA 2014 alloy.In addition,it has been detected that wear resistance of hybrid composite pin(containing 20 wt%cumulative reinforcement)is higher than that of other stir cast wear test pins during the whole range of applied loads.Fractured surfaces of tensile specimens showed ductile fracture in the AA 2014 matrix and mixed mode for hybrid composites.Worn surfaces obtained employing higher applied load indicated abrasive wear with little plastic deformation for hybrid composites and dominant adhesive wear for matrix alloy.Hence,the superior mechanical and tribological performance of hybrid composites can be attributed to dual reinforcement particles being dispersed well and the effective transmission of load at this specific composition.

Wear Evaluation on Ni_3Al/MnS Composite Related to Metallurgical Processes

Iron alloyed Ni3Al with composition of Ni-18. 8Ab10. 7Fe-0. 5Mn-0. 5Ti-0. 2B in atom percent （NAC alloy） showed attractive tribological properties under unlubrication condition at room temperature. The alloy was prepared by hot isostatic pressing （HIP） process. The wear properties were associated with its intrinsic deformation mechanism. Unfortunately, the single phase NAC-alloy worked inadequately with its counterpart disk, and also showed a poor machinability. In the present work, NAC-alloy matrix composite with 6 % （volume percent） MnS particle addi- tion was studied to improve its wear behaviors and performance on machining. Two metallurgical processes of HIP and vacuum casting were applied to produce the testing materials. Pin-on-disk （POD） measurements were carried out at room temperature. A commercial vermicular graphite cast iron was selected as a reference material. The counter- part disk was made of a grey cast iron as liner material in ship engines. The contact pressures of 2.83 MPa and 5.66 MPa were normally applied in the tests. The investigation indicated that MnS particle addition in the NAC-alloy composites functions as an effective solid lubricant, and improved wear properties and machinability of the materials. Obvi- ously, as-cast NAC-alloy with in-situ formed MnS-phase was working more effectively with the counterpart, compa- ring to the HIPed NAC-alloy composite with MnS particles. At the high contact pressure of 5.66 MPa, the specific wear rate of the as-cast NAC-alloy composite was high. The phenomenon of the negative effect is mostly due to the brittle second NiAl phase as evidenced in the microstructure analysis.

Tribological and mechanical behaviours of resin-based friction materials based on microcrack filling

To enhance the friction performance of resin-based friction materials,five types of specimens with different polymer ether ketone(PEEK)contents were fabricated and their physiomechanical behaviours were tested and,their tribological properties were investigated using a JF150F-II constant-speed tester.It was found that the addition of PEEK had a positive influence on the properties of the friction materials,and sample FM-3(the shorthand of‘Friction Materials-3’,containing 2 wt%PEEK)exhibited improved friction performance with a fade ratio and recovery ratio of 8.6%and 101.1%respectively.Among all samples,FM-4(the shorthand of‘Friction Materials-4’,con-taining 3 wt%PEEK)had the lowest specific wear rate with a value of 0.622×10^(−7)cm^(3)(N⋅m)^(−1)at 350℃.The PEEK can fill the microcracks in the composite at a high tem-perature and can also cover the hard abrasive particles to prevent them from directly damaging the composite.The findings from this study afford a foundation for studies to further improve the properties of resin-based friction materials.