Friction and Wear Behavior of Al-Graphene Nanocomposite Synthesized by Powder Metallurgy and Hot Extrusion

In this research work, Al matrix is reinforced with graphene, synthesized by the powder metallurgy method, and further processed by the hot extrusion process. The microstructure of aluminum and Al-graphene composite samples was investigated using FESEM and optical microscopy. The grain structure is investigated to analyze the grain size of pure aluminum and aluminum-graphene composites. Pin on Disk wear test setup is used to investigate the tribological behavior of the developed composites. Developed samples were tested experimentally to evaluate the influence of graphene addition, applied load, and sliding velocity on wear behavior. From the results, the wear rate of Al-Graphene composites is observed to be lower compared to monolithic aluminum samples. However, wear rate increases with the increase in velocity of sliding and the applied load. The Coefficient of Friction (COF) of composite samples was less than that of pure aluminum samples. Results reveal that the graphene-Al composites exhibit superior tribological properties during tribological tests and exhibit a 38.1% reduction in wear rate at a 60 N load.