Tribological behavior of ultrasonic assisted double stir casted novel nano-composite material (AA7150-hBN) using Taguchi technique

A novel Al-7150 nanocomposite material was fabricated with various weight percentages of Hexagonal Boron Nitride from 0.5 to 2 wt% in steps of 0.5 wt% by liquid metallurgy route via ultrasonic assisted double stir casting method. The tribological properties were tested and carried out on pin-on-disc tribometer considering various input parameters like weight percentage of reinforcement, applied load, sliding distance and speed to study the tribological characterization. Taguchi technique using MiniTab 17 software was used to analyse the wear rate of nanocomposites. Different experiments were conducted using Taguchi technique and the regression equations were developed through Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to investigate the influence of various test parameters such as applied load, sliding distance, sliding speed and the material parameter such as weight percentage of reinforcements. The applied load had the greatest influence on statistical and physical properties of nano composites while, the sliding speed exercised its impact on the Coefficient of Friction (COF) of nanocomposite on dry sliding wear and also on the optimal parameters for less wear rate and low COF. The worn-out surface morphology of test specimens was investigated through Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) system and correlated with the obtained results and conclusions were drawn.