TRIBOLOGICAL BEHAVIOUR OF SILICON CARBIDE REINFORCED AA2024 COMPOSITES

In this paper aluminium-silicon carbide composites are synthesized by varying the amount of silicon carbide reinforcement (0%, 4%, 8% and 12%) in the AA2024 matrix by stir casting method. The tribological properties of MMC’s like wear behavior and corrosion tests are presented. Sliding tests were performed on a pin-on disk apparatus under different speeds. It was found that the reinforced SiC could effectively reduce the wear, especially under higher normal loading conditions. Corrosion test was taken in 3.5% of salt solution for different periods of time are observed. The hardness test was performed on Vickers Hardness equipment. The micro structural changes in the composites are analyzed by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX). It was fairly observed that as the amount of silicon carbide in AA2024 matrix decreases wear rate for 12%wt., three times that of the pure alloy, corrosive resistance is high for 12%wt., and the hardness of composite is increased by 1.5 than the pure alloy.