The effect of Al2O3 particle reinforcement ratio and sintering parameters on wear behavior of aluminum composites

With the development of composite materials, particle reinforced Al composites started to gain importance and their usage areas became widespread. By adding particles such as Al 2 O 3 to Al which has a soft phase structure and limited usage area, a harder and better tribological property is obtained. In this study, 5%, 10%, 20% Al 2 O 3 reinforced Al based metal matrix composites (MMK) were produced. Metal matrix composites were pressed under 40 bar and 60 bar pressures to obtain solid samples. These samples were sintered at 560 o C for 60, 90, 120 minutes and density, hardness measurements and friction coefficients were compared. Abrasion tests of Al 2 O 3 reinforced composites were carried out by applying 6 N and 10 N forces on CSM instruments brand abrasion device. Wear regions were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), both adhesive and abrasive wear, as well as partial breaks and plastic deformations. Worn areas of the samples on the profilometer device were calculated and the results were examined. It was observed that the hardness values ​​increased as the reinforcement ratio increased.