Effect of Control Factors on Wear Rate of the Ceramic Particulate Filled Metal Alloy Composites: A Comparative Analysis

Wear is a major cause of material replacement in engineering material. The approaching century needs revolutionary wear-resistant materials to minimize friction and wear losses. This study focuses on the enhancement of wear resistance of aluminium 6061 by the addition of hard ceramic particulates (ZrO2: zirconia, TiO2: titania, Y2O3: yttria and SrO2: strontia). The MMCs are prepared by reinforcing ZrO2 (0, 5, 10, and 15 wt%), TiO2 (12 wt%), Y2O3 (6 wt%), and SrO2 (3 wt%) in Al 6061 matrix through stir casting process. The dry sliding wear test is conducted to investigate the effect of normal load (20-50 N) and sliding speed (0.32-1.25 m/s) under steady-state conditions on specific wear rate of developed composites. Finally, Taguchi's design of experimental analysis (L16 orthogonal array) is performed by considering four factors and four levels, i.e., normal load (20, 30, 40, and 50 N), filler content (0, 5, 10, and 15 wt% ZrO2), sliding speed (0.32, 0.63, 0.94, and 1.25 m/s), and sliding distance (188.4, 565.4, 1130.9, and 1884.9 m). The optimal combination of filler content (5 wt% ZrO2), load (50 N), sliding speed (0.94 m/s), and sliding distance (565.4 m) shows better wear resistance. The analysis of variance shows that normal load is the most influential parameter, followed by filler content, sliding speed, and sliding distance. The wear mechanism is examined by studying worn surfaces of tested specimens through scanning electron microscopy and 3D profilometry together with X-ray diffraction study for composition analysis of ceramics reinforcements in MMCs.