Tribological Friction and Wear Behaviour of Graphite-Carbon Short Fiber Reinforced Al-17Si Alloy Hybrid Composites

Graphite and carbon short fiber (Copper coated) reinforced (2 wt%) hypereutectic Al-17%Si alloy composites were prepared by liquid metallurgy route. Room temperature friction and wear properties of as cast hypereutectic Al-Si alloy reinforced with copper coated graphite and short carbon fibers were investigated both before and after heat-treatment. Friction and wear tests were conducted using a pin-on-disc machine under dry conditions. The loads were varied from 10 to 50N respectively. Results reveal that coefficient of friction and wear rate of the hybrid composite are lower than that of the matrix alloy in both heat treated and un-heat treated conditions. The coefficient of friction of the matrix alloy and its hybrid composite decreased with increased load up to 30N and increased beyond this load. The wear rates of both the matrix alloy and its hybrid composite increased with the increasing load. However at all the studied, the developed hybrid composite exhibited a lower coefficient of friction and wear rates when compared with the matrix alloy.