M. BABIĆ, R.

NINKOVIĆ

RESEARCH
Zn-Al Alloys as Tribomaterials

In the paper are presented results of tribological investigations of possibilities for application of
the Zn-Al alloys of Yugoslav production for manufacturing the elements of tribo-mechanical
systems aimed for motion guiding, within the technical systems of various purposes. In order to
clearly establish the tribological potential of these alloys, the tribological parameters (parameters
of friction and wear) of the Zn-Al alloy are compared to parameters of the lead-tin bronze, as a
widely applied conventional bearing material.
The established level of tribological characteristics, both from aspect of wear and aspect of
friction, show that Yugoslav Zn-Al alloys represent respectable tribological materials. Considering
the simulated conditions of tribological interactions, results nominated these alloys as candidates
for bearing's materials for conditions of limiting lubrication, that are characteristic for high loads
and low sliding speeds. With respect to bronze they have better anti-frictional characteristics,
higher resistance to wear and lower price costs

Keywords: Zn-Al aloys, Tribology, Friction, Wear, Bearing's Materials

1. INTRODUCTION (before all with only 30 % of Al) were used instead

of bronze, primarily due to lack of copper. Besides
Though conventional bearing materials (especially for bearings, the Zn-Al alloys were applied also for
bronzes) are still dominating in industrial practice, in
other machine elements, like the worm gears,
the past two decades a there is a growing number of
components of hydraulic installations, etc.
published information about results of investigation
on their substitution by zinc-aluminum alloys [1, 2, Special importance in development of Zn-Al alloys
3, 4]. The basic motive of such investigations is of during the seventies and eighties has the
course of economic nature. Namely, the Zn-Al International Lead and Zinc Research Organization.
alloys are characterized by significantly lower price, Based on their investigations and investigations of
even to 50 %, with respect to bronze. Besides that, other research centers and manufacturers in this area
these alloys can successfully be machined by the Zn-Al alloys for casting were developed, marked
standard casting procedures, like sand casting, as ZA-8, ZA-12 and ZA-27. Such coding (in which
centrifugal, permanent and continual casting. Total the numerical code denotes the eventual content of
savings of substitution bronzes with these alloys are aluminum) is accepted also by the ASTM standards
estimated up to the level of 35-90 % [3]. B 669-89, while according to European norm EN
1774-98 the following codes are used: ZL8, ZL12
The concept of application of Zn-Al journal bearings
and ZL27.
as substitution for the bronze ones is not new [2].
The first experiences are related to the period of the Summing up the world experience, based on
Second World War, when different Zn-Al alloys laboratory research and investigations in exploitation
conditions (primarily on manufacturing machines in
Dr Miroslav BABIĆ mining), the conclusion can be drawn that the Zn-Al
Faculty of mechanical engineering alloys, compared to bronzes, have better anti-
Kragujevac,University of Kragujevac frictional characteristics, better characteristics from
S.Janjic 6. 34 000 Kragujevac, Serbia the standpoint of running in, better ability for
[email protected] pressing in the abrasive particles, lower friction
Mr Rato NINKOVIĆ coefficient, longer working life and lower price
RAR d.o.o costs. Based on such world experiences from Europe
11273 Batajnica, Serbia and America in the area of the ZnAlCuMn alloys,
[email protected] and also based on own investigation, about a decade

Tribology in industry, Volume 26, No. 1&2, 2004. 3

ago the company RAR from Belgrade, using made of tested bearings materials. Rotational discs
exclusively domestic raw materials, starts casting of diameter 100 mm were made of construction steel
these alloys, primarily those with aluminum content C 4732, which was thermally treated, of hardness 38
over 10 % like are RAR-12 and RAR-27. Realized HRC. Contact surfaces were machined by grinding,
good carrying capacity and wear resistance enabled under the same conditions. The machined contact
application of these alloys, especially for mining surfaces quality of pins and discs is characterized by
equipment and mechanization for tribo-elements, roughness at the level of approximately Ra = 0.3 μm.
like the sliding radial and journal bearings, various
In this paper is presented a part of results which
bushings, nut for the screwed spindles, guides, etc.
provide a possibility for tribological comparison of
Systematic investigations of the RAR alloys the RAR Zn-Al alloy, with commercial mark RAR-
characteristics, with aim to evaluate them as the 27, casted in ingot mold, and the lead-tin bronze
tribological material for manufacturing the sliding CuPb15Sn8. Chemical compositions and physical-
elements were supported by the Ministry for Science mechanical properties of these materials are given in
and Technology of Republic of Serbia, as well as a tables 1 to 3.
series of customers, within the innovation project
Table 1. Chemical composition of CuPb15Sn8
coded as MHT. 2.02.0012.B. In this paper are just
presented some of the obtained results by which is Chemical Percentage
shown the possibility of substitution of bronzes, element content
what, besides other, is very significant from the
aspect of reducing the needs for importing the Cu 76.0
deficient tin.
Sn 7.63
Pb 12.31
2. EXPERIMENT
Others Remaining
Tribometric investigations are of the model type and
they were performed on the computer-supported Table 2. Chemical composition of RAR-27
tribometer. Based on requirements to realize the
contact and relative motion type similarity on model Chemical Percentage
and real system, for tribological modeling of sliding element content
bearing was chosen (in tribometric practice the most Al 26.20
present) pin-on-disc contact scheme with continuous
sliding (Figure 1). As in real tribological system Cu 2.30
bearing / journal, the tribologically critical contact Mg 0.029
element is bearing, on the model, the stationary pin
corresponds to it, which is, due to small degree of Zn Remaining
covering, tribologically more critical contact
element of the contact pair on the model. Table 3. Physical-mechanical properties of samples

Tested materials
BEARING Physical-mechanical property
RAR- CuPb15
27 Sn8
Hardness (HB) 124 90
Tensile strength Rm (MPa) 451 188.9
Extension (%) 5.2 7.85
Yield strength Rp0.2 (MPa) 353 131.7
Elasticity modulus (Mpa) 137.6 110
Density ρ (kg/dm3) 4.94 8.28
Figure 1. Tribotesting model system

In conducted tests were used pins of cylindrical

form, with diameter of 2.5 mm, with flat, ground
front (contact) surface (nominal contact area 5 mm2),

4 Tribology in industry, Volume 26, No. 1&2, 2004.

Investigations of selected samples of materials' pairs Table 4. The wear rate for material RAR-27
were done in the following conditions:
Wear rate
• Sliding rate: 0.15 m/s
Pressure For stationary
• Contact pressure: 3.5 and 7 Mpa Total
area
Mpa
• Type of lubrication: Limiting mg/h mm3/h mg/h mm3/h
• Lubricant's temperature: 50 °C 3 0.46 0.09 0.22 0.044
• Environmental conditions: Room temperature 5 0.72 0.144 0.56 0.11
(20 to 25 °C) and normal atmosphere
7 1.31 0.26 1.00 0.20

3. INVESTIGATIONS RESULTS
Table 5. The wear rate for material CuPb15Sn8
Individual tribometric tests for each of combinations
of the contact conditions were conducted for 4.5 Wear rate
hours, what corresponds to the friction path of 3000 Pressure
m. By periodical measurement of wear by the weight Total For stationary
Mpa area
method and continuous measurement of the friction
parameters, the series of data were generated, by
mg/h mm3/h mg/h mm3/h
whose processing the results were obtained which
can serve for comparison of the tribological behavior 3 1.73 0.19 1.40 0.154
of the RAR-27 alloy and lead-tin bronze, in
5 2.20 0.24 1.98 0.216
condition of limiting lubrication.
7 - - - -
The obtained wear curves, as functions of the weight
lost by wear versus the friction path (or time), have
the classical form with the expressed running-in
period and the uniform wear period, Figure 2. Based The wear rate of tested materials increases with
on the wear curves, the corresponding rates of wear increase of load, what was expected in conditions of
were calculated, in two ways, as the mass rate in the limiting wear. At pressure of 7 Mpa for the
mg/h and as the volume rate in mm3/h (Tables 4 and RAR-27 alloy the significant increase of the wear
5). In the given tables is presented the total wear rate occurs (Figure 3). That points to the fact that
rate, as well as the wear rate for the area of material is closing to limiting load, from the
stationary wear. The volume wear arte is used due to viewpoint of wear, what is confirmed also by
different density of the tested materials. appearance of the more prominent plastic
deformation of the sample material (Figure 4),
5.5
during the tests with pressures of 7 Mpa and higher.
5.0 3 MPa
Simultaneous load of 7 Mpa has, for samples made
4.5 5 MPa of CuPb15Sn8, caused a great dissipation of results,
4.0
7 MPa due to present inclusions and material's
Wear, mg

3.5
inhomogeneity, so these results were not accepted as
3.0
significant.
2.5
300
2.0
250
1.5
Wear, %

1.0
200
0.5 150
0.0 100
0 500 1000 1500 2000
50
Sliding distance, m
0
Figure 2. Wear curves 3 M Pa 5 M Pa 7M Pa
Contact pre s s ur e

Figure 3. Wear vs contact pressure

Tribology in industry, Volume 26, No. 1&2, 2004. 5

 Table 6. Wear rate of alloys RAR-27 and
CuPb15Sn8
RAR-27 CuPb15Sn8

Contact Specific Specific wear

Friction Friction
pressure wear rate rate
X 10-6 coefficie coefficie
(Mpa)
nt X 10-6 nt
(mm3/Nm)
(mm3/Nm)
3 11.00 0.105 20.90 0.120
5 10.60 0.100 17.7 0.100
7 13.74 0.086 - -

Figure 4. Deformation of the sample material Average 11.78 0.097 19.3 0.11

For comparison of alloys in Figure 5 the volume

wear rate was chosen, since it is directly related to 25
R AR 27 C uP b15S n8

Specific wear rate X 10-6,

linear wear, which is, in the system of journal 20
bearing, responsible for increase of clearance and

mm3/Nh
loss of the bearing's working ability. Obtained 15
results point that, at the same testing conditions, for
10
all applied loads, lower wear rate, for the given
friction path, corresponds to material RAR-27 with 5
respect to material CuPb15Sn8. It can be seen that
the larger differences in the wear rates correspond to 0
lower contact loads. 3M Pa 5M Pa 7M Pa
C ontact pressure, M P a
It is usual today, due to possibility of direct
comparison of tribological properties of materials,
which are obtained in different contact conditions, to Figure 6. Specific wear rates of tested materials
use the parameter which represents the wear amount
per the unit of the normal contact load and the 0.12
friction path. 0.1
Coefficient of

This parameter, in literature present as the specific 0.08

friction

wear rate, according to Yugoslav standard represents

0.06
the wear intensity. Values of this parameter for the
compared alloys are given in Table 6, where is for 0.04
comparison, also for this case, used the volume 0.02
wear. The corresponding graphic representation is
0
shown in Figure 6.
3 5 7
0.3 Contact pressure, MPa
RAR 27 CuPb15Sn8
0.25
Figure 7. Coefficient of friction vs contact presure
0.2
0.11
,

0.15
0.1
Coefficient of

0.105
friction

0.05
0.1
0
3MPa 5MPa 7MPa
0.095
Contact pressure, MPa
0.09
Figure 5. Wear rates of tested materials Materials
Figure 8. Friction coefficient of tested materials

6 Tribology in industry, Volume 26, No. 1&2, 2004.

Though, in principle, the increase of wear rate
corresponds to in crease of contact load, as it was
4. CONCLUSION
shown in Tables 4 and 5, it is obvious that the The established level of tribological characteristics,
gradient of that increase lags behind the gradient of both from aspect of wear and aspect of friction,
the contact load increase. Due to that, such show that Yugoslav Zn-Al alloys represent
expressed wear rate does not have the increase respectable tribological materials. Considering the
tendency, but even shows decrease with increase of simulated conditions of tribological interactions,
the contact load, from 3 to 5 Mpa. It can be seen that results nominated these alloys as candidates for
the wear rtae is almost twice lower for the RAR-27 bearing's materials for conditions of limiting
alloy. lubrication, that are characteristic for high loads and
During the course of test operations, according to low sliding speeds. With respect to bronze they have
better anti-frictional characteristics, higher resistance
previously described procedure, data was gathered
to wear and lower price costs.
about force, namely the friction coefficient, that are
memorized as time series. After the known
characteristic fall at the very beginning of the
process, the friction force maintains relatively 5. REFERENCES
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analysis of the obtained results, to keep in mind only Metallurgists, 1986., pp. 305-313.
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[3] Risdon T. J., Barnhurst R. J., Comparative Wear
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Tribology in industry, Volume 26, No. 1&2, 2004. 7