Effect of graphite and granite dust particulates as micro-fillers on tribological performance of Al 6061-T6 hybrid composites

Aluminium and its alloys have an ever growing demand in many industries such as aerospace, automotive due to their high strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance. Our current work focuses on synthesis and tribological studies of precipitation hardened Al 6061-Gr(p)-granite dust hybrid composites. Liquid stir casting technique is used for synthesis, precipitation hardening treatment imparted for maximising the hardness before subjecting to two-body sliding wear tests. The variation of wear for different levels of load, speed and composition along with SEM micrographs of the worn surfaces has been investigated. Hybrid combinations of granite dust (2 wt% and 4 wt%) with graphite (2 wt%) show higher tensile strength, hardness and significantly improved wear resistance as compared to the base alloy. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.