New study on tribological performance of AA7075-TiB2 nanocomposites

AA7075 (Al-Mg-Zn-Cu) nanocomposite is important in tribo-related applications. In this paper, we applied a new method to investigate the coefficient of friction (CoF) of AA7075 (T6)-TiB2 nanocomposite. This method is able to minimize the wear and obtain the CoF values of the nanocomposite. A distinct trend of the CoF is discovered in this study. A novel friction theory with the consideration of surface characteristics, such as hardness difference and atom transfer between friction pairs, has been developed to understand this CoF trend. The new insight from this study offers a great potential for a rational design of AA7075 nanocomposite parts to achieve reliable tribological performance.