Wear and corrosion behavior of coconut shell ash (CSA) reinforced Al6061 metal matrix composites

The wear and electrochemical corrosion behavior of Al6061-CSA composites with varying weight percentages of CSA reinforcement have been investigated. A pin on disc apparatus was used to characterize the wear resistance of the prepared composite specimens. Open-circuit corrosion potential (OCP) and potentiodynamic polarization measurements (PDP) were used to study the corrosion behavior of prepared Al6061-CSA composites in 3.5 % NaCl solution. The characterization was performed through EDS and SEM. The wear rate of the composites decreased with increase in wt.-% of the CSA. It was observed that with an increase in CSA, the coefficient of friction and friction force of the composites increased. The composites produced have better corrosion resistance than the base matrix aluminum alloy Al6061. The corrosion resistance of the composites starts to increase with an increase in CSA content up to 6 wt.-%, and then it starts decreasing. FSEM and XRD analysis were performed on the morphology of composites in 3.5 % NaCl solution. © Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Co. KG