Antifriction and wear behaviour of ZAS35 zinc alloy: influence of heat treatment and melting technique

A new kind of ZAS35 zinc alloy containing antimony has been developed. In comparison with SAE660 bronze and ZA27 zinc alloy, its antifriction and wear resistance behaviour and the influence of the heat treatment and melting technique on the wear and friction behaviour was studied under identical test conditions. The results showed that the antifriction and wear resistance performance of ZAS35 alloy is superior to that of SAE660 bronze and ZA27 alloy, the load-bearing capacity is higher than that of SAE660 bronze under the given test conditions. Furthermore, treated with the melting technique of thermal-rate treatment (TRT), ZAS35 alloy has much better antifriction performance, the wear resistance of ZAS35 alloy treated with heat treatment is further increased. The microstructure and worn surface of ZAS35 alloy were examined, the mechanism of its antifriction and wear resistance behaviour was discussed according to the theory of tribology.