Abrasive Wear of Continuous Fibre Reinforced Al And Al-Alloy Metal Matrix Composites

The abrasive wear testing of continuous ceramic fibre reinforced Al and Al-alloy matrix composites is proven difficult due to inherent complexity of the many wear processes, compounded by the possible interplay with microstructural variables in Metal matrix composites. This paper reports the results of abrasive wear tests on specimens of continuous Silicon Carbide (SiC) and high strength Carbon (H.S.C) fibres reinforced Al(1100) and Al(6061) matrix materials, with 50-60% fibre volume fraction, and made by matrix fibre coating and hot-consolidation fabrication process. The test results for fibres parallel to the sliding direction of Al2O3 (alumina) abrasive papers with abrasive grit sizes 85mì to 250mì, at sliding speeds of 76, 110, 160 and 180 mm/s, and applied load ranging from 5 to 15 kg for a time (t), show that the test can be applied to continuous fibre reinforced metal matrix composites, and their addition has resulted in a large reduction of abrasion rate by a factor of more than ten for such composite materials. Optical and Scan Electron Microscope (SEM) investigation of abraded surfaces and just below surfaces show that the wear resistance of 55% v/o SiC-Al(6061) were higher than that of 55% v/o SiC-Al(1100) composite materials, indicating that matrix ductility and fibre-matrix interfacial strength affect the abrasive wear behaviour of such composites. The important variables of this test were discussed and its usefulness in comparing wear resistant materials is demonstrated