Investigation of nickel metal powder on tribological and mechanical properties of Al-7075 alloy composites for gear materials

This research paper describes the fabrication of different weight percentages of (0-2 wt-%) nickel powder-filled aluminium alloy composites by stir casting techniques under a controlled environment. The physical, mechanical and tribological analyses of the nickel powder-filled aluminium alloy (Al-7075 series) composites are studied experimentally. The void content, Vickers hardness, compressive strength and impact strength of the unfilled and particulate-filled alloy composites are increased with the increase in filler content, while flexural strength of the composites shows reverse in trend. At the end, sliding wear analysis is performed to assess the wear performance of the unfilled and particulate-filled alloy composites. It is also observed that 2 wt-% nickel powder-filled alloy composite exhibits higher wear resistance as compared to other alloy composites. Finally, the microstructure analysis of the worn out composites is observed through scanning electron microscope to comprehend the wear mechanism of the composites for gear material application.