Tribological characteristics of AA8090-WC-ZrC metal matrix composites prepared by stir casting process for aerospace applications

Purpose - The aerospace field is demanding material with superior strength and high resistance against wear, tear and corrosion. This study aims to develop a new material with high performance to be applicable in the aerospace field. Design/methodology/approach - A metal matrix composite AA8090-WC-ZrC was fabricated using the stir casting method and its tribological behavior was investigated. Totally, five composites viz. AA/Z, AA/W, AA/WZ (1:3), AA/WZ (1:1) and AA/WZ (3:1) were prepared. Micro hardness, tensile and wear study were performed on the fabricated composites and the results were compared with AA8090 alloy. Findings - Vickers hardness test resulted that the AA/W composite showed a higher hardness value of 160 HB compared to other materials due to the reinforcing effect of tungsten carbide (WC) particles with high hardness. The tensile test reported that the AA/W composite displayed the maximum tensile strength of 502 MPa owing to the creation of more dislocation density. Further, the wear study showed that the AA/W composite exhibited the least wear rate of 0.0011 mm(3)/m because of the more resisting force offered by the WC particles. Furthermore, the AA/W composite showed the slightest mass loss of 0.0028 g and a lower coefficient of friction value of 0.31 due to the hinder effect of WC particle to the movement of atoms in AA8090 alloy. Originality/value - This study is original in the field of aerospace engineering and materials science which deals with the fabrication of AA8090 alloy with the reinforcement particles such as WC and zirconium carbide. The impact of the combination of hybrid particles and their volume fractions on the tribological properties has been investigated in this work. This work would provide new scientific information to society.