A comparative study on the friction and wear properties of semi-solid cast A356 alloy

In this study, the friction and wear properties of A356 alloy processed via semi-solid casting and conventional casting were experimentally investigated. Experimental results indicate that under the same experimental conditions the wear of the semi-solid cast A356 in mass does not exceed 85 % of that of the conventionally cast A356 alloy. The friction coefficient curve of semi-solid cast A356 is smoother than that of the conventionally cast A356. The friction coefficient of the semi-solid cast A356 is around 0.53 for stationary friction, less than the 0.59 for the conventionally cast A356. The improvement in the friction and wear properties is mainly a result of the microstructural change induced by semi-solid processing.