Influence of microstructure and experimental parameters on the erosion–corrosion behavior of Al alloy composites

The influence of material related parameters such as alloy composition and reinforcement volume fraction and the experimental parameters such as the slurry concentration and rotational speed on the erosion–corrosion behavior of SiC particle reinforced aluminum alloy composites in saline, acidic and basic environments is studied. It is observed that 2014–SiC composite exhibited better wear resistance than LM13–SiC composite in acidic and NaCl media. Further both the composites exhibited better wear resistance than their matrix alloys in these environments irrespective of the sand content in the slurry and the rotational speed. The wear rates increased with increasing sand content in both the media. Al/Si/precipitate interfaces were found to be the preferential sites for corrosive attack in both the alloys and composites. In basic media the trend was reversed with both the composites exhibiting lower wear resistance than their matrix alloys. Further 2014–SiC composite exhibited lower wear resistance than LM13–SiC composite in basic media.