Mechanical Properties and Wear Strengths of Piston Alloy-Alumina Composites
Sheikh Jaber Nurani1, Chandan Kumar Saha2, M.N Haque3
1Sheikh Jaber Nurani, B.Sc. in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
2Chandan Kumar Saha, B.Sc. in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
3Prof. Dr. M.N Haque, Former Head of the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering and former Dean of Engineering Faculty, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Manuscript received on January 07, 2015. | Revised Manuscript received on January 12, 2015. | Manuscript published on January 15, 2015. | PP: 75-79 | Volume-3 Issue-2, January 2015. | Retrieval Number: B0782013215/2014©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Aluminium metal matrix composites reinforced with alumina particles have better mechanical and tribological properties than aluminium alloys. For this reasons these composites are widely used in aerospace and automobile industries. In this work Scrap piston alloy was used as master alloy because it contains silicon and magnesium. Silicon increases the casting ability and magnesium increases the wettability of alumina particles in master alloy. The desired composites were produced by the stir casting method by adding 5%, 10% and 15% alumina particles in master alloy respectively. For each of the composite alumina particles were preheated to a temperature of 800°C for 2 hours. Then particles were added gradually into the molten master alloy for achieving improved wettability and uniform distribution. The stirring was continued for 5 minutes. Finally composites ware poured into permanent metallic moulds at a temperature of 650°C. The hardness and tensile strength of the composites were examined. All composites have higher strength than master alloy. Addition of alumina particles in master alloy increases the hardness of the composites. The wear tests were conducted using pin on disc wear testing machine with counter surface as steel disc of hardness HRC 32 and surface roughness of 0.62 µm. The composite pin was used as specimens and all the wear tests were carried out in air and dry sliding conditions. It was found that composites have superior wear resistance property over master alloy. It was also examined the effect of load, sliding speed and sliding distance on wear behaviour. All these three factors increase the wear loss. Microstructural characterization of the composites has performed.
Keywords: Alumina Particles, Composite, Hardness, Piston Alloy, Stir Casting, Tensile Strength, Wear Properties.