Effect of SiC and Graphite Particulates Addition on Wear Behaviour of Al2219 Alloy Hybrid Composites

In this investigation wear behaviour of A12219 alloy reinforced with SiC and graphite particulates were studied. The percentage of silicon carbide and graphite as reinforcements were varied from 2 wt.% to 4 wt.% in steps of 2. Energy dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microphotographs were used to confirm the presence of SiC and graphite particulates and its uniform distribution over the aluminum matrix. Wear behaviour of aluminum alloy Al2219 reinforced with silicon carbide and graphite fabricated by stir casting process was investigated. The wear properties of the metal matrix composites were studied by performing dry sliding wear test using a pin-on-disc wear tester. The experiments were conducted at a constant sliding velocity of 1.73m/s over a load of 2kg. The results showed that the wear resistance of Al2219-2%SiC-2% graphite and Al2219-4%SiC-4% graphite composites were better than the unreinforced alloy. The wear in terms of weight loss and wear rate was found to decrease with the increasing the weigh percentages of SiC and graphite. To study the dominant sliding wear mechanism worn surfaces were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy.