Effect of Graphite Particle Reinforcement On Dry Sliding Wear of Sic GR Al Composites

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Rare Metal Materials and Engineering

Volume 38, Issue 11, November 2009


Online English edition of the Chinese language journal

Cite this article as: Rare Metal Materials and Engineering, 2009, 38(11): 1894−1898. ARTICLE

Effect of Graphite Particle Reinforcement on Dry Sliding


Wear of SiC/Gr/Al Composites
Leng Jinfeng, Jiang Longtao, Wu Gaohui, Tian Shoufu, Chen Guoqin

Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Abstract: The 40%SiC/5%Gr/Al composites with various-sizes graphite addition were fabricated by squeeze casting technology,
and their friction and wear properties were investigated. Results showed that after the addition of graphite the friction coefficient of
composites decreased and the wear resistance increased by 170 to 340 times. In addition, wear resistance was improved with in-
creasing of graphite particle size, which is attributed to the enhancement of integrity of lubrication tribo-layer composed of a com-
plex mixture of iron oxides, graphite as well as fractured SiC particles and some fine particles containing aluminum.

Key words: metal-matrix composites (MMCs); casting; wear; graphite

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) have been used in the ence of the graphite on wear properties were also found in the
aerospace, aircraft and automotive industries because they literatures. Biswas and Pramila Bai[13] showed that unrein-
possess many potential advantages over monolithic materials, forced Ai-Si had better wear properties than those with 2.7%
including higher specific strength and stiffness, higher wear to 5.7% graphite. Ted Guo et al. [14] found that the wear resis-
resistance, higher thermal conductivity, lower coefficient of tance of SiC/Al composite was superior to those with 2vol%,
thermal expansion etc.[1-4]. Usually,SiC or Al2O3 in the form of 5vol% and 8vol% graphite content and concluded that the
either particles or whiskers is used as reinforcement in most degradation of the fracture toughness of the composites with
MMCs. The presence of hard, brittle and abrasive ceramic re- graphite outweighed the beneficial effects of reduced friction
inforcement gives rise to rapid tool wear upon using traditional coefficient. Therefore,the influence of the graphite on wear
manufacturing process[5-8]. An alternative approach to the pro- properties of composites is necessary to be discussed further.
duction of SiCp/Al composites with improved machinability is Moreover, relatively little information about the effect of
to incorporate soft graphite particles in the composites. Leng graphite particles on wear properties is available.
and Wu showed a 20%-50% decrease in the tool wear with an In the present study, squeeze casting technology was suc-
increase in graphite content in SiC/Al composites[9]. In addi- cessfully used to fabricate SiC/Gr/Al composites, and the ef-
tion, some researchers indicated that the graphite added into fect of graphite on friction coefficients as well as wear resis-
SiC/Al composites could improve wear resistance and reduced tance of the resultant composites was investigated.
the coefficient of friction[10-14]. Ames and Alpas[11] compared
1 Experimental
the wear properties of 20% SiC-3% (or 10%) Gr-Al compos-
ites with 20%SiC-A356 composite at different loads and ob- Dry sliding wear tests were performed on the samples made
served that the 20%SiC-3% (or 10%) Gr-Al composite had of SiC/Gr/Al composites and SiC/Al composite, and the asso-
lower wear rate over entire load range. Riahi and Alpas[12] pro- ciated material properties are given in Table 1. The nominal
vided the sliding wear diagram of A356 Al-10%SiC-4%Gr and composition of the 2024Al was 4.79% (mass fraction the
A356 Al-5%Al2O3-4%Gr composites, and showed that the same hereafter) Cu, 1.49%Mg, 0.611%Mn, 0.245%Fe,
formation of tribo-layer delayed the mild wear transition to the 0.168%Si, 0.068Zn, 0.046%Ti, 0.013%Ni, 0.049%Cr and
severe. However, the contradictory results regarding the influ- balance in Al. The SiC particles with 3μm in size and 40%
volume fraction were used. The flake graphite with 1 μm, 6
Received date: November 30, 2008
Corresponding author: Leng Jinfeng, Candidate for Ph. D., Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, P. R. China, Tel: 0086-451-86412164, E-mail:
jfleng@126.com
Copyright © 2009, Northwest Institute for Nonferrous Metal Research. Published by Elsevier BV. All rights reserved.

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Leng Jinfeng et al. / Rare Metal Materials and Engineering, 2009, 38(11): 1894-1898

μm and 20 μm in size and 5% volume fraction was chosen for


Loading direction
the purpose of improving friction and wear properties.
The SiC/Gr/Al composites were fabricated by squeeze cast-
ing technology [15]. Firstly, the SiC and graphite particles were
mixed by mechanical balling for 30 min. Then they were filled Rotation direction
and pressed into a mold to produce a SiC/Gr preform and
pre-heated. At the same time, the aluminum alloy was melt,
degassed and cleaned in a graphite crucible and heated to 800
℃. Subsequently, the molten aluminum was poured into the Ring
Block
tool steel die and vertical pressure up to 100 MPa was applied
to force molten aluminum to infiltrate into SiC/Gr preform en-
tirely. The pressure was maintained for 180 s until the solidifi- Fig.1 Schematic view of ring-block test apparatus
cation was complete. For comparison, SiC/Al composite was
fabricated by the same method. A S-570 scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy
Mechanical properties of SiC/Al and SiC/Gr/Al composites dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was used to characterize
(T6) are shown in Table 1. As shown in it, the tensile strength morphologies, compositions of the worn surfaces and the
of SiC/Gr/Al composites are decreased with the addition of loose debris generated during sliding wear. Phase constituents
graphite particles, and this is mainly attributed to the poor of the lubrication film on worn surface were examined by
strength of graphite (20-30 MPa). Upon adding 1, 6 and 20 μm glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD) with Cu Kα radia-
graphite, the tensile strength of SiC/Al composites were de- tion, and 5° glancing angle was chosen.
creased by 18%, 21% and 45%, respectively. But for
2 Results and Discussion
SiC/Gr/Al particles, the tensile strength of SiC/Al composites
are composite (the particle size of graphite: 1-6 μm), the ten- 2.1 Friction coefficient and wear loss
sile strength and elastic modulus are more than 400 MPa and The measured typical curves of friction coefficient of the
150 GPa, which is relatively high and suitable for most engi- SiC/Gr/Al composites and the SiC/Al composite against
neering applications. W18Cr4V steel are shown in Fig.2. Obviously, the curves of
Wear tests were carried out under dry sliding conditions using friction coefficient for two composites are dramatically dif-
a ring-block type wear tester with the operational parameters, as ferent. For SiC/Al composite, the running-in period was too
indicated in Table 2 and the schematic diagram is shown in Fig. short to be identified, as shown in Fig. 2a. The friction coeffi-
1. The ring samples were prepared from the composites and had cient kept relatively high value, and fluctuated in the range of
an outer diameter of 50 mm. The counterface blocks were made 0.3~0.5. In contrast, for SiC/Gr/Al composites, sliding proc-
of W18Cr4V steel and machined into rectangular blocks of 6 ess can be divided into running-in period and stabilization pe
mm×8 mm×10 mm. Friction coefficient was continuously
monitored during the friction experiments. 0.7
a 0.7
0.6 b
0.6
Friction Cofficient

The mass of each sample was measured before and after


0.5 0.5
each wear test by an analytical balance of 0.01 mg precision.
0.4 0.4
0.3 0.3
Table 1 Mechanical properties of SiC/Gr/Al and SiC/Al composites 0.2 0.2
at room temperature (mass fraction) 0.1 0.1
0.0 0.0
Tensile strength Elastic modulus 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Materials 0.7
σb/MPa E/GPa c 0.7 d
0.6 0.6
Friction Cofficient

40%SiC/Al 510 172 0.5 0.5


40%SiC/5%Gr(1 μm)/Al 420 166 0.4 0.4
0.3 0.3
40%SiC/5%Gr(6 μm)/Al 405 150 0.2 0.2
40%SiC/5%Gr(20 μm)/Al 282 125 0.1 0.1
0.0 0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Table 2 Operational parameters of the wear tests Time, t/s Time, t/s
Normal load 150 N
Linear speed 0.4 ms-1
Fig.2 Typical curves of friction coefficients of SiC/Al(a),
Sliding time 120 s
SiC/Gr(1μm)/Al(b), SiC/Gr(6μm)/Al(c), and SiC/Gr(20
Temperature 22±3 oC
μm)/Al against W18Cr4V steel(d) as a function of sliding
Lubricants No
time

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Leng Jinfeng et al. / Rare Metal Materials and Engineering, 2009, 38(11): 1894-1898

riod, as shown in Fig. 2b, 2c and 2d. Friction coefficient


gradually increased during the running-in period, and then set- a b
tled up to a steady value of 0.25-0.3 afterward during stabili-
zation period. Moreover, compared with that of
SiC/Gr(1μm)/Al, the friction coefficient curves of SiC/Gr(6 Sliding Sliding
μm)/Al and SiC/Gr(20μm)/Al fluctuated in a smaller range
during stabilization period. On the whole, friction coefficients
tended to be lower and steadier due to the graphite addition in
c d
SiC/Al composites.
Fig.3 shows wear loss of the composites and counterfaces in
120 s of wear process. It can be clearly seen that the wear loss Sliding Sliding
of the SiC/Al composite shows a higher value of 484.0 mg.
However, the wear loss of SiC/Gr/Al composites exhibit lower
wear loss values (1.4-2.7 mg). Consequently, the wear resis- 100 μm
tance of SiC/Gr/Al composites is almost 170 to 340 times bet-
ter than those of SiC/Al composite, which demonstrates that Fig.4 Morphology of worn surface of composites (a) SiC/Al, (b)
the addition of graphite in composites is responsible for the SiC/Gr(1 μm)/Al, (c) SiC/Gr(6 μm)/Al, and (d)SiC/Gr(20
low wear loss. It was also found the wear loss of SiC/Gr/Al μm)/Al
composites gradually decreased with the increase of graphite
particle size, from 2.7 mg for 1 μm to 1.4 mg for 20 μm. tribo-layer was formed on the surfaces of SiC/Gr/Al composites
Therefore, SiC/Gr/Al composite with coarser graphite particle during sliding, which sewed a protective lubricating film to
exhibits higher wear resistance. prevent the direct contact between the aluminum matrix and
To reveal the effect of the graphite additions in SiC/Al steel counterface. In this wear mechanism, the high volume
composite on counterface, the wear loss of steel counterface fraction ceramic particles acting as load-bearing elements re-
was measured, as shown in Fig. 3. With graphite addition in strict the subsurface damage during preceding sliding, and sup-
SiC/Al composites, the wear loss of W18Cr4V steel was re- press the spalling process of tribo-layers from the surface.
duced by about 2/3. Moreover, it is shown that the wear loss of The characterizations of the composition and the micro-
W18Cr4V decrease monotonously with increasing size of structure of the tribo-layer formed during wear are essential to
graphite addition, which indicates that coarse graphite particle rationalize the friction and wear behavior of the SiC/Gr/Al
improved the wear properties of steel counterface. composites. EDS analysis was employed to determine the
2.2 Characterization of worn surfaces elements on the worn surface (the area of rectangle in Fig4.d)
Fig.4 shows the morphologies of worn surfaces SiC/Gr/Al of SiC/Gr(20 µm)/Al composites, as shown in Fig.5. It is re-
and SiC/Al rings. It can be found that severe plastic deforma- vealed that the lubrication layer is composed of Al, Si, Fe, Cr,
tion and adhesive wear appeared on the worn surfaces of W, O and C elements. The existence of oxygen implies that
SiC/Al composite. The SiC/Al composite exhibited severe loss surface elements, such as Fe, were at least partially oxidized
of the material (as shown in Fig.3) by adhesion-induced tri- during sliding. Therefore, it may be inferred that the
bofracture, in agreement with other studies [11, 12].While, no tribo-layer is composed of a complex mixture of iron oxides,
obvious adhesion and abrasion wear were observed on either graphite as well as fractured SiC particles and some fine par-
surface of SiC/Gr/Al composites. It can be seen that the ticles containing aluminum, as can be confirmed by corre-

500
490 Composite ring Al
480 Steel block
470
Intensity/a.u.
Wear Loss/mg

460
450 Si
O
5 Fe

C Cr
W
0
SiC/Al SiC/Gr(1μm)/Al SiC/Gr(6μm)/Al SiC/Gr(20μm)/Al 1 3 5 7 9
Energy/keV

Fig.3 Wear loss of the composites and counterfaces of wear process Fig.5 EDS analysis of the tribo-layer on the top surface of SiC/Gr
for SiC/Al and SiC/Gr/Al (20 μm)/Al

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Leng Jinfeng et al. / Rare Metal Materials and Engineering, 2009, 38(11): 1894-1898

sponding XRD analysis in Fig.6. In the XRD pattern, the dif- The integrity of tribo-layers depends upon the size of
fraction peaks of Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 were found in addition to Al, graphite addition, which is related to the formation mecha-
SiC, Gr and Fe diffraction peaks. It indicated that iron trans- nism of tribo-layers. According to previous research[16], the
formed from steel counterface was partially oxidized in the air metal around coarse graphite particles in the tribo-surface and
under friction heat during sliding, which was similar to those subsurface region was easily plastically deformed during
reported by Ames and Alpas [12]. Hence, the iron oxides and sliding. As a result, the coarse graphite particles were prefer-
graphite commonly acted as solid lubrication to reduce the entially squeezed onto the surface and tended to extend in
friction coefficient between the contact surfaces and wear of larger area on the surface by the sheared and the smeared be-
tribo-system. tween the mating surfaces. Therefore,SiC/Gr/Al composites
The effect of the size of graphite particle on the morphology with coarse graphite particles easily formed the tribo-layer on
of the worn surface is also shown in Fig.4. The worn surface the surface during sliding.
of SiC/Gr (1 μm)/Al composite was covered by a continuous Much aluminum was apt to adhere on the surfaces of steel
tribo-layer. Regions between smooth surfaces layers consisted by aid of friction heat and contact stress during sliding, as
of fine debris, as shown in Fig. 4b. In Fig.4c and 4d, with the shown in dark area of Fig.7. The worn surface of steel against
size of graphite addition up to 6 μm and 20 μm, the worn SiC/Al composite was almost entirely covered. While the
tracks were entirely covered by the tribo-layers, which demon- worn surface of steel against adhesion aluminum, which was
strated that the integrity of tribo-layers were enhanced with confirmed by the EDS SiC/Gr(20 μm)/Al composite was cov-
increasing of the size of graphite addition. It is clearly showed ered by a little adhesive aluminum alloy transferred from
that the existence of tribo-layer on the worn surface of composite surface. The formation of the gentle wear surface
SiC/Gr/Al composites has improved the wear resistance to is attributed to the formation of lubricate tribo-layer of com-
plastic deformation and scoring by reducing metal-metal di- posites ring surface.
rect contact between the sliding pairs. Consequently,
3 Conclusions
SiC/Gr/Al composite with coarse graphite particles exhibited
higher wear resistance than that with fine particles by the in- 1) With the addition of graphite, the friction coefficient of
tegrity improvement of tribo-layers. SiC/Al composites decreases and the wear resistance is sig-
nificantly increased by 170 to 340 times. Moreover, the wear
loss of counterface steel is decreased by a factor of about 2/3.
2) The wear resistance of SiC/Gr/Al composites increases
Fe3O4(222)
Al(111)

with the increase of the graphite particle size. The improve-


ment of wear resistance is mainly attributed to the enhance-
Fe2O3(110)
Intensity/a.u.

SiC(102)

ment of integrity of lubrication tribo-layer composed of a


complex mixture of iron oxides, graphite as well as fractured
Fe(110)
Al(200)
Fe2O3(104)

SiC particles and some fine particles containing aluminum.


SiC(101)

SiC(110)

SiC(109)

SiC(202)
Al(220)

Al(311)
Fe3O4(400)

Fe3O4(331)

Fe2O3(116)
SiC(104)
Gr(002)

SiC(204)
Gr(004)

Fe(211)

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