Investigation of the Effect of Ni Amount on the Wear Performance of A356 Cast Aluminum Alloys

This study investigates the effect of artificial aging treatment on wear performance of A356 alloy containing different amounts of Ni. Within the scope of the study, A356/Ni alloys were produced using the sand mold casting method and then the artificial aging treatment was applied. Alloys were naturally aged at room temperature for 24 hours and artificially aged at 170°C for 10 hours after keeping in solid solution for 8 hours at 540°C and rapidly cooling. The alloys produced were characterized with hardness and density measurements, microstructure examinations, and X-ray diffraction. Wear tests were performed using a pin-on-disc type testing device under three different loads and at four different sliding distances. It was found that alloy density increases with increasing Ni amount. The highest hardness value was obtained for 1% Ni added alloy, and an increase in hardness was observed with the addition of Ni. The lowest weight loss was obtained for 1% Ni added alloy, which also had the highest hardness, and it was observed that the addition of Ni led to an increase in weight loss.