Pin Temperature and Al 2 O 3 Fillings Effect on Sliding Wear Characteristics of Al–25Zn/Al 2 O 3 Composites

Abstract

This investigation studied the effect of Al₂O₃ reinforcement on sliding wear (dry) characteristics of Al–25Zn/Al₂O₃ composites at various temperatures, speeds, and loads applied for 1400 m sliding distances as per the Taguchi L16 orthogonal array using a tribometer with an Emergency Number24 shaft steel disk. Al–25Zn alloy-based composites reinforced with 10, 15, and 20 wt% of Al₂O₃ particles were fabricated by the stir casting technique. The results show a significant alteration in mechanical and tribological properties with reinforcement of Al₂O₃ content. The optimum mechanical and sliding wear properties are seen for the composite with 10 wt% of Al₂O₃. The material removal in the matrix alloy is due to adhesion and in composites mainly due to abrasion and delamination. The developed regression model and the artificial neural network model can forecast the composite's wear behavior with good precision.