Fly ash particles are potentially used in metal matrix composites due to their low cost, low density, and availability in large quantities as waste by-products in thermal power plants. This study describes multifactor-based experiments that were applied to research and investigation on dry sliding wear system of stir-cast aluminum alloy 6351 with 5, 10, and 15？wt.% fly ash reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs). The effects of parameters such as load, sliding speed, and percentage of fly ash on the sliding wear, specific wear rate, and friction coefficient were analyzed using Grey relational analysis on a pin-on-disc machine. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also employed to investigate which design parameters significantly affect the wear behavior of the composite. The results showed that the applied load exerted the greatest effect on the dry sliding wear followed by the sliding velocity. 1. Introduction Metal matrix composites (MMCs) have received substantial attention due to their reputation as stronger, stiffer, lighter, and excellent wear properties over the monolithic alloys [1–3]. Though MMCs possess superior properties, they have not been widely applied due to the complexity of fabrication [4]. The conventional stir casting is an attractive processing method for fabrication, as it is relatively inexpensive and offers wide selection of materials and processing conditions. Stir casting offers better matrix particle bonding due to stirring action of particles into melts [5]. Wear is one of the most commonly encountered industrial problems, leading to frequent replacement of components, particularly abrasion. Abrasive wear occurs when hard particles or asperities penetrate a softer surface and displace material in the form of elongated chips and slivers [6]. Extensive studies on the tribological characteristics of aluminum MMCs containing various reinforcements such as silicon carbide, alumina, and short steel fiber are already done by researchers [7–9]. The variables such as composition of the matrix, particle distribution, and interface between the particles and the matrix affect the tribological behavior of metal matrix composites. These conditions include the type of countersurface, applied load, sliding speed, contact area, geometry, and environment [10]. The principle tribological parameters such as applied load [11–13], sliding speed [14, 15], and percentage of fly ash control the friction and wear performance. Fly ash is one of the residues generated in the combustion of coal. The addition of fly ash leads to the increase in wear
References
[1]
Y. Sahin, “Optimization of testing parameters on the wear behaviour of metal matrix composites based on the Taguchi method,” Materials Science and Engineering A, vol. 408, no. 1-2, pp. 1–8, 2005.
[2]
Y. Sahin, “Wear behaviour of aluminium alloy and its composites reinforced by SiC particles using statistical analysis,” Materials and Design, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 95–103, 2003.
[3]
M. K. Surappa, S. V. Prasad, and P. K. Rohatgi, “Wear and abrasion of cast Al-Alumina particle composites,” Wear, vol. 77, no. 3, pp. 295–302, 1982.
[4]
C. Thiagarajan, R. Sivaramakrishnan, and S. Somasundaram, “Cylindrical grinding of SiC particles reinforced Aluminum Metal Matrix composites,” ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, vol. 6, pp. 14–20, 2011.
[5]
K. Kalaiselvan, N. Muruganand, and P. Siva, “Prod. and characterization of AA6061–B4C stir cast composite,” Materials and Design, vol. 32, pp. 4004–4009, 2011.
[6]
Y. Sahin and K. ？zdin, “A model for the abrasive wear behaviour of aluminium based composites,” Materials and Design, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 728–733, 2008.
[7]
A. T. Alpas and J. Zhang, “Effect of SiC particulate reinforcement on the dry sliding wear of aluminium-silicon alloys (A356),” Wear, vol. 155, no. 1, pp. 83–104, 1992.
[8]
O. Yilmaz and S. Buytoz, “Abrasive wear of Al2O3-reinforced aluminium-based MMCs,” Composites Science and Technology, vol. 61, no. 16, pp. 2381–2392, 2001.
[9]
D. Mandal, B. K. Dutta, and S. C. Panigrahi, “Dry sliding wear behavior of stir cast aluminium base short steel fiber reinforced composites,” Journal of Materials Science, vol. 42, no. 7, pp. 2417–2425, 2007.
[10]
P. K. Rohatgi, B. F. Schultz, A. Daoud, and W. W. Zhang, “Tribological performance of A206 aluminum alloy containing silica sand particles,” Tribology International, vol. 43, no. 1-2, pp. 455–466, 2010.
[11]
B. K. Prasad, S. V. Prasad, and A. A. Das, “Abrasion-induced microstructural changes and material removal mechanisms in squeeze-cast aluminium alloy-silicon carbide composites,” Journal of Materials Science, vol. 27, no. 16, pp. 4489–4494, 1992.
[12]
B. N. P. Bai, B. S. Ramasesh, and M. K. Surappa, “Dry sliding wear of A356-Al-SiCp composites,” Wear, vol. 157, no. 2, pp. 295–304, 1992.
[13]
K. J. Bhansali and R. Mehrabian, “Abrasive wear of aluminum-matrix composites,” Journal of Metals, vol. 34, no. 9, pp. 30–34, 1982.
[14]
C. S. Lee, Y. H. Kim, K. S. Han, and T. Lim, “Wear behaviour of aluminium matrix composite materials,” Journal of Materials Science, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 793–800, 1992.
[15]
A. P. Sannino and H. J. Rack, “Dry sliding wear of discontinuously reinforced aluminum composites: review and discussion,” Wear, vol. 189, no. 1-2, pp. 1–19, 1995.
[16]
Sudarshan and M. K. Surappa, “Dry sliding wear of fly ash particle reinforced A356 Al composites,” Wear, vol. 265, no. 3-4, pp. 349–360, 2008.
[17]
Sudarshan and M. K. Surappa, “Synthesis of fly ash particle reinforced A356 Al composites and their characterization,” Materials Science and Engineering A, vol. 480, no. 1-2, pp. 117–124, 2008.
[18]
H. K. Durmu？, E. ？zkaya, and C. Meri？, “The use of neural networks for the prediction of wear loss and surface roughness of AA 6351 aluminium alloy,” Materials and Design, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 156–159, 2006.
[19]
W. Zhou and Z. M. Xu, “Casting of SiC reinforced metal matrix composites,” Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 63, no. 1–3, pp. 358–363, 1997.
[20]
A. R. Ahamed, P. Asokan, and S. Aravindan, “EDM of hybrid Al-SiCp-B4Cp and Al-SiC p-Glassp MMCs,” International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, vol. 44, no. 5-6, pp. 520–528, 2009.
[21]
M. Ramachandra and K. Radhakrishna, “Effect of reinforcement of flyash on sliding wear, slurry erosive wear and corrosive behavior of aluminium matrix composite,” Wear, vol. 262, no. 11-12, pp. 1450–1462, 2007.
[22]
P. Shanmughasundaram, R. Subramanian, and G. Prabhu, “Some studies on aluminium—flyash composites fabricated by two step stir casting method,” European Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 63, pp. 204–218, 2011.
