Slurry erosive wear behavior of Ni–P coated Si3N4 reinforced Al6061 composites

Ni–P coated Si3N4 reinforced Al6061 composites were fabricated by liquid metallurgy route. Percentage of reinforcement was varied from 4 wt% to 10 wt% in steps of 2. The developed composites were subjected to microstructure and sand slurry erosive wear studies. The influence of experimental parameters such as slurry concentration, rotational speed of slurry, size of impinging particles and the test duration on slurry erosive wear behavior of developed composites have been studied. Results reveals that, Al6061–Si3N4 composites exhibited improved wear resistance when compared with the matrix alloy under identical test conditions. With increase in slurry concentration, rotational speed of slurry, test duration, size of impinging particles, the slurry erosive wear rates of both matrix alloy and developed composites increases. However, under all the tests conditions studied, the developed composites possess higher wear resistance when compared with that of matrix alloy. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques were used to identify the oxides/passive layer formed on the worn surfaces. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) examinations were also carried out on worn surfaces to observe the possible mechanisms of material removal in the matrix alloy and developed composites.