Abrasive wear of Al alloy-Al2O3 particle composite:: a study on the combined effect of load and size of abrasive

The two-body abrasive wear behaviour of a cast aluminium alloy (ADC12) and ADC-12-10 wt.% Al2O3 particle composite was studied at different loads (1 N to 7 N) and abrasive sizes (30 mu m to 80 mu m). The wear behaviour was predicted through statistical analysis of the measured wear rate at different operating conditions. The wear rate (Y) is expressed in terms of the coded values of the abrasive size (x(1)) and applied load (x(2)) by the following linear regression equation: Y-alloy = 21.32 + 2.21 x(1) + 13.72 x(2) + 1.83 x(2) (1) Y-composite = 17.32 + 3.17x(1) + 14.84x(2) + 2.86 x(1)x(2) (2) where the multiplication factor is 10(-11) m(3)/m. Eq2. 1 and 2 above suggests the following: (i) the effect of load on the wear rate of both the alloy and composite is more severe as compared to that of abrasive size, (ii) the effect of load and abrasive size on the wear rate is relatively more in case of composite material than that of the alloy and (iii) at certain combinations of load and abrasive size, the wear rate of composite may be higher as compared to that of alloy. The above factors (i), (ii) and (iii) were explained on the basis of operating wear mechanisms. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.