Hardness and wear characteristics of Hybrid Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites produced by stir casting technique

Aluminum alloys are widely used in aerospace and automobile industries due to their low density and good mechanical properties, better corrosion resistance, wear resistance and low thermal coefficient of expansion as compared to conventional metals and alloys. These materials have excellent mechanical properties and cost of production is comparatively low. Because of these qualities they form a very strong contender in variety of applications. In this work, attempts were made to produce aluminium hybrid metal matrix composite (LM 25+ Activated Carbon+ Mica) by stir casting method and compare the properties with conventional composites (LM25+ Activated Carbon) and (LM25+Mica). The specimens were tested for hardness using Brinnel Hardness Tester and wear properties using Abrasive belt wear testing machine. The contributions of the reinforcement on the wear process and the wear loss have been investigated. Study of wear debris and worn surfaces was carried out using Light Optical Microscope (LOM). (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.