Evaluation of wear resistance of magnesium/glass microballoon syntactic foams for engineering/biomedical applications

Friction and wear behaviour of magnesium/glass microballoon (GMB) foams synthesized by Disintegrated Melt Deposition (DMD) were investigated under dry sliding conditions. The coefficient of friction (mu) decreases with increasing GMB content. Mg-25wt.% GMB exhibits similar to 13% lower mu pure compared to magnesium. Wear resistance of magnesium showed a significant enhancement (similar to 2.5 times) post GMB addition. Abrasion and oxidation were identified as dominant wear mechanisms post worn-surface analysis. Delamination wear, which has traditionally limited the advantages of composites with discontinuous reinforcements in sliding wear conditions for structural and biomedical applications can be effectively addressed by the development of these proposed syntactic foams.