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Materials and Design 47 (2013) 456–464

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Materials and Design

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Technical Report

Wear performance of Al–SiC–B4C hybrid composites under dry sliding conditions

M. Uthayakumar a,⇑, S. Aravindan b, K. Rajkumar b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalasalingam University, Krishnankoil 626 126, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110 016, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Hybrid metal matrix composites consist of a metal or an alloy matrix with strongly embedded multiple
Received 15 September 2012 hard reinforcements to enhance the wear resistance properties. This research study emphasizes on the
Accepted 29 November 2012 dry sliding wear behavior of aluminum reinforced with 5% SiC and 5% B4C hybrid composite using a
Available online 8 December 2012
pin on disc tribometer. Wear performance of the hybrid composites were evaluated over a load ranges
of 20–100 N, at the sliding velocities from 1 to 5 m/s. Detailed metallurgical examination and energy dis-
persive analysis were carried out to assess the effect of SiC and B4C particles on the wear mechanisms.
The Focused Ion Beam (FIB) technique is used to characterize the tribo layers that have been formed at
the worn surfaces of composites. The experimental results show that the hybrid composites retain the
wear resistance properties up to 60 N load and sliding speed ranges 1–4 m/s. The enhancement of wear
resistance with small amount of SiC and B4C is achieved by the cooperating effect of reinforcement
particles.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction resistance, for example graphite particle reinforced with aluminum

The need for a new wear resistant material for high perfor-
mance tribological applications has been one of the major driving
forces for the tribological development of ceramic particulate rein-
forced aluminum alloy during the last decade [1]. Various forms of
reinforcements are used in aluminum alloy matrices such as silicon
carbide, alumina, and zirconia. in the form of fibers, whiskers or
particulate to enhance the wear performance and also properties
tailored to the suitable applications [2]. Moreover, B4C is under-
stood to have neutron absorbing capability [3], and hence, B4C
reinforced composite may well be suited for applications in nuclear
reactors. Many researchers exploited the different reinforcement
particles with different form to fabricate the aluminum composites
and used different fabrication routes for achieving the required
properties. SiC, TiB2 and B4C are the suitable reinforcement mate-
rials to improve the tribological properties of a matrix material
[4]. Bekir investigated the tribological and mechanical properties
of Al2O3–SiC reinforced aluminum composites. The increase in
mono ceramic reinforcement in aluminum matrix increases the
wear resistance obviously. An alternative approach is to improve
the overall properties of composites by way of adding one or more
suitable (multiple) reinforcements to the virgin metal matrix. This
is called as the hybrid composite to exploit the properties of rein-
forcements [5].
Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) also have excellent wear
properties. It is true that some MMCs have shown improved wear
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 4563 289042, mobile: +91 9443918525.
E-mail address: m.uthayakumar@klu.ac.in (M. Uthayakumar).
alloy in sliding wear. Particle reinforcement of alumina in alumi-
num alloy increased the wear resistance [6]. Manish et al. have re-
ported that the introduction of reinforcing particle in an aluminum
matrix could reduce the wear rate with increased transition load
means the load at which transition occurs from mild to severe
wear [7]. Rao and Das have found that the wear coefficient of the
alloy was significantly higher than that of the Al–SiC composite
and is suppressed further due to addition of silicon carbide parti-
cles and applied pressure [8]. According to Alahelisten et al., the
tribological behavior of a composite depends on the microstruc-
tural properties of the material, type of loading and sliding condi-
tion [9]. Copper–graphite (5 wt%) composite is a tribological
composite was fabricated through powder metallurgy (P/M) route
and can be used in sliding electrical contact applications requiring
low friction and wear in addition to high electrical conductivity
[10]. The influence of sliding speed on the friction and wear behav-
ior of the Al-13% SiC composite and Al-13% B4C composite sliding
against a commercial phenolic brake pad has been investigated un-
der dry condition by Shorowordi et al. [11]. It is observed that
higher sliding velocity leads to lower wear rate and friction coeffi-
cient for both the metal matrix composites. Formation of a com-
pact transfer layer has been identified at the worn surface of the
MMCs which enhances the tribological properties. According to
Topcu, increasing weight percent of B4C in aluminum matrix in-
creased the hardness of the composite [12]. Tang et al. demon-
strated the dry sliding friction and wear properties of 5 wt% and
10 wt% B4C particulate reinforced aluminum metal matrix compos-
ites. According to the findings, the wear rate of 10 wt% was approx-
imately 40% lower than that of composite 5 wt% B4C particle

0261-3069/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2012.11.059
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M. Uthayakumar et al. / Materials and Design 47 (2013) 456–464 457

reinforced composites. These experimental results indicate the sig- was based on the ASTM D3552 – 96(2007). The property of the
nificant effect of B4C particle on enhancing wear resistance of com- composite is listed in Table 2.
posites. It is understood that instead of increasing mono SiC
reinforcement particles in aluminum composites, adding smaller 2.2. Tribology test
amount of B4C can drastically improve the tribological properties
and also positive impact on the fracture toughness. Due to increas- Dry sliding wear tests were carried out using a pin on disc ma-
ing the mono reinforcement particles in metal matrix apparently chine. Pins were machined from the 1100 aluminum alloys and
affect the fracture toughness which is also one of the wear control also from cylindrical castings of the hybrid composites for tribol-
parameter [13]. Addition of B4C particles with bigger particle size ogy tests based on the ASTM G99 – 05(2010). Cylindrical pins of
results in more homogeneous composite microstructure compared dimensions 11 mm diameter and 25 mm height were machined.
to the composite with smaller B4C particle size due to agglomera- Typical specimen is presented in Fig. 1.
tion [14]. Addition of B4C to the powder mixture resulted in a dras- Pins were tested against an EN30 steel disc having the hardness
tic decrease in infiltration temperature and fully infiltrated 62 HRC, ground to a surface finish (Ra) of 2.54 lm. The tribological
composites [15]. Aluminum reinforced with SiC has been prepared tests were carried out in the ranges of applied normal loads of 20–
by various researchers in order to understand the effect of various 100 N in step of 20 N and at a sliding speed range from 1 to 5 m/s in
factors such as the particle size [16], the load [17] and the sliding steps of 1 m/s with a constant sliding distance of 4000 m. Prior to
speed [18]. In this work, a detailed examination of the dry sliding the tests, the pins were polished with a SiC-1200 grit polishing pa-
wear on the aluminum matrix with 5%wt B4C and 5%wt SiC as rein- per and cleaned with acetone. The friction forces were recorded
forcements with varying sliding velocity from 1 m/s to 5 m/s over a during the entire wear test and average value was taken. The
load range of 20–100 N. weight of the pin was measured before and after each wear test
using an electronic digital weight balance with an accuracy of
2. Experimental procedure 0.1 mg. The temperature rise of pin during wear testing was mea-
sured using ‘K’ type thermocouple. The thermocouple is embedded
2.1. Preparation of composite in the pin at a distance of 2 mm from the contact surface. The
experimental setup is shown in Fig. 2.
Hybrid composite comprises 1100 aluminum alloy as matrix
and SiC and B4C as reinforcements. Samples of the composites 2.3. Worn surface analysis
were prepared by stir casting route. The melting was carried out
in a resistance furnace. Scraps of 1100 aluminum were preheated The worn surfaces of wear tested samples were examined using
at 450 °C for 3–4 h before melting. Chemical composition of the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray
matrix material is shown in Table 1.
The SiC and B4C particles were also preheated at 1000 °C to
make their surfaces oxidized to improve the wetting property with
aluminum melt. The average particle size of the SiC (5 wt%) parti-
cles was 10 lm, and the average particle size of B4C (5 wt%) was
65 lm. The preheated aluminum scraps were first heated above
the liquidus temperature to melt it completely. Then it is slightly
cooled below the liquidus to maintain the slurry in the semisolid
state.
The preheated reinforcements were added to aluminum semi
solid melt and mixed manually. Manual mixing was used because
it was very difficult to mix using automatic device when the alloy
was in a semisolid state. The composite slurry was then reheated
to a fully liquid state, and mechanical mixing was carried out for
about 10–15 min at an average mixing speed of 150–300 rpm.
The final temperature was controlled to be within 750 °C ± 10 °C,
and pouring temperature was controlled to be around 720 °C. After
Fig. 1. Typical composite specimen.
thorough stirring, the melt was poured into steel molds of 20 mm
diameter and 300 mm in length and allowed to cool to obtain cast
rods. Developed composites were tested for their physical and
mechanical properties. The tensile properties of composite were
carried out in an Instron tensile tester, the sample preparation

Table 1
Chemical composition of aluminum alloy.

Element Si Cu Mn Zn Others Al
Wt (%) 0.95 0.05–0.2 0.05 0.1 0.05–0.15max 99

Table 2
Properties of hybrid composite.

Sample Yield strength Tensile strength Elongation Hardness

(N/mm2) (N/mm2) (%)
Al 5%SiC–5%B4C 81.37 134.62 2.2 116 (HV)
Fig. 2. Typical experimental facility.

458
Spectroscopy (EDAX). Wear debris was also analyzed using SEM
with EDAX. Tribo film and sub surface deformation of worn surface
is studied using a dual beam FIB.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effect of load on coefficient of friction
The variation of coefficient of friction of composite and unrein-
forced aluminum alloy with normal load is shown in Fig. 3. The
coefficient of friction is high for aluminum when compared with
the hybrid composite. The reduction of friction coefficient is due
to the major role played by the formation of boron oxide layer
(B2O3) at the contact zone. The pulled out B4C particles were react-
ing with environment readily to form the B2O3 oxide layer. The for-
mation of boron oxide layer is influenced by the generated heat. It
is observed that coefficient of friction is decreased up to 60 N load
and after that it is increased drastically with load. This may be re-
lated to the formation and tearing of oxide layer and tribo layer at
the contact surfaces respectively. Similar observation is made on
aluminum–granite composites when wear tested under different
pressure i.e. coefficient of friction is decreased with applied pres-
sure up to 0.8 MPa and then coefficient of friction is increased with
applied pressure [2].The tribo layer formation and its stability at
the contact surface are influenced by the normal load and sliding
velocity. The stable tribo layer is formed at the contact surfaces un-
der the condition of load from 20 N to 60 N and sliding velocity
from1 m/s to 4 m/s. The state at velocity 4 m/s gives better result
among other conditions. However, these oxide films may break
down during dry sliding at high load beyond 60 N. The tempera-
ture and wear volume of the alloy are observed to be increased
continuously with increasing pressure; however, the increase in
the wear volume is consistent with one of the Archid’s laws which
states that the volume of wear material is proportional to the nor-
mal load or pressure between the contacting surfaces.
3.2. Effect of sliding velocity on coefficient of friction
The coefficient of friction of composite with sliding speed is
shown in Fig. 4a. The trend of the coefficient of friction is similar
to that of wear rate. Similar results is reported on aluminum–gran-
ite composites when dry wear tested under different sliding speed,
the coefficient of friction is decreased up to 3.96 m/s and then coef-
ficient of friction is increased with increasing sliding speed beyond
3.96 m/s [2]. The SEM micrograph of the surface tested at 2 m/s
0.75
0.70
0.65
coefficient of friction
0.60
0.55
0.50
0.45
0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
20 40 60
Load N
Fig. 3. Effect of load on coefficient of friction.
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M. Uthayakumar et al. / Materials and Design 47 (2013) 456–464
and 20 N normal load is presented in Fig. 4b. Very narrow groove
line and thin tribo layer covered at the worn surface are observed.
The EDAX profile of worn surface at 20 N and 2 m/s is shown in
Fig. 4c. The predominant peaks of aluminum alloy and reinforce-
ment particles with Fe and O peak are observed. Fe peaks indicat-
ing the reinforcement particles abrade the counter steel surface
material. SEM image of worn surface at 3 m/s and 20 N is shown
in Fig. 4d. It shows the thick tribo layer presence in worn surface
and plastically formed grooves. The SEM worn surface at 5 m/s
and 20 N is shown in Fig. 4e. The higher sliding speed produced
rough worn surface and completely torn out tribo layer. It is under-
stood that irrespective of load, the higher speed causes the worn
surface to get completely damaged. The corresponding EDAX at
5 m/s and 20 N is shown in Fig. 4f where the high intensity peak
of Fe is observed. From all this EDAX profiles, presence of O peak
confirms the oxidative driven wear in all cases.
3.3. Effect of load on wear rate
The variation of wear rate of composite and unreinforced alumi-
num alloy with normal load is shown in Fig. 5a. It is observed that
the wear rate of the composite is lower when compared to unrein-
forced aluminum. Similar results were reported by many investiga-
tors for the Al–SiC and Al–Al203 composites [4–6]. The aluminum
pin is showing the continuously increasing trend of wear with
increasing normal load due to direct metal to metal contact. As a
result of large scale plastic deformation during dry sliding, larger
sized wear debris is formed. For the composite at a given normal
load, the wear rate increased mildly up to the load 60 N and there-
after the wear rate increased rapidly. Tang et al. [13] also reported
that Al–B4C composites exhibited mild wear rate up to 65 N.
Embedded ceramic particles reduced the plastic deformation of
composite by impeding the dislocation. During sliding the lower
order of pull out particles is observed from the composite pin up
to 60 N. These pull out particles can act as a third body between tri-
bo couple resulting in a third body abrasion. With continuous slid-
ing, these pull out particles were compacted between the sliding
surfaces. Consequently it is increased the compaction of the pull
out particles between the tribo couple with increasing normal load.
The pull-out particles are mixed with oxide of both composite pin
and counter surface materials which are generated during the slid-
ing. It is well known that aluminum readily reacts with environ-
ment and forms the aluminum oxide. Singh et al. [2] observed
formation of aluminum oxide film at the contact surface when slid-
ing against the steel counter surface. The pull out particles and pro-
truded reinforcement particles in composite are abrading the
counter surface material. These pin and counter surface material
and their oxide which are combined during sliding, form the low
shear strength tribo layer. This low shear strength tribo layer con-
sists of mixture of all the constituents of the composite, counter
surface and oxide products. This tribo layer reduces the plastic
deformation of the composite pin to certain extent by way of
reducing the direct contact between the tribo surfaces. Similar
observation is reported by Alpas and Zhang [1] for the Al–SiC com-
posites under the mild wear regime. Fig. 5b revealed (tested at
40 N and 4 m/s sliding condition) the Mechanically Mixed Layer
(MML) completely covered by tribo layer and slim grooves. EDAX
Al
of worn surface of 40 N and 4 m/s is shown in Fig. 5c, almost all
composite @ 1m/s peaks of aluminum alloy and reinforcement particles are observed.
composite @ 2m/s
composite @ 3m/s In addition, O and Fe peaks are also observed. These peaks are
composite @ 4m/s attributed to formation of oxide at the worn surface and abrasion
composite @ 5m/s
of counter surface material. The SEM image of worn surface at
80 100 60 N and 4 m/s is presented in Fig. 5d. The tribo layer has covered
the worn surface which resulted due to lower order pulling out of
particles. Further these particles are mechanically comminuted be-
tween the tribo surfaces producing the fine particles and due to
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M. Uthayakumar et al. / Materials and Design 47 (2013) 456–464 459

(a) 0.60 composite @ 20N

composite @ 60N
composite @ 80N
0.55
(d)
coefficient of friction

0.50

0.45

0.40

0.35

0.30

0.25
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Sliding velocity m/s

(b)

(e)

cps/eV cps/eV
(c) 10 (f)
3.0

8
2.5

6
2.0
C Fe Zn Al Fe Zn
B O Cu Si Fe Cu Zn B O Cu Si Fe Cu Zn
1.5
4
1.0

2 0.5

0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10
2 4 6 8 10
keV
keV

Fig. 4. (a) Effect of sliding velocity on coefficient of friction. (b) SEM micrograph at 20 N and 2 m/s. (c) EDAX at 20 N and 2 m/s. (d) SEM micrograph at 20 N and 3 m/s. (e) SEM
micrograph at 20 N and 5 m/s. (f) EDAX at 20 N and 5 m/s.

this low order of wear rate is observed. Increasing the load beyond
60 N, the tribo characteristics is changed by protruded reinforce-
ment particles predominately leads to tearing the formed tribo
layer. Increased local stress results in larger wear debris formation
which gives an indication of severe plastic deformation of the com-
posite. Sannino and Rack [4] reported severe plastic deformation of
aluminum–SiC composites when tested with high order of normal
load and sliding speed due to plastic flow attributed by instability
of aluminum matrix. matrix More pull out reinforcement’s parti-
cles are observed when loading beyond the normal load of 60 N
which means that considerable plastic deformation of composite
has occurred. Pulled out particles can also form a third body abra-
sion condition. However the higher amount of presence of ceramic
particles in tribo layer results in tearing of the formed tribo layer.
Ultimately it leads to the exposure of the virgin composite material
at the contact zone which results in increased wear rate. The
unstable formation of tribo layer is attributed to the considerable
plastic deformation of composite pin. SEM image of worn surface
at 100 N and 4 m/s is shown in Fig. 5e. It is observed that there
is a severe distortion of worn surface and no presence of tribo
layer. The worn surface seems to be mostly torn out of formed
layer. EDAX profile of worn surface at 100 N and 4 m/s is shown
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460 M. Uthayakumar et al. / Materials and Design 47 (2013) 456–464

(a) 30 (d)
28 Al
composite @ 1m/s
26 composite @ 2m/s
Wear rateX10-5 mm3/m

24 composite @ 3m/s
22 composite @ 4m/s
composite @ 5m/s
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2

20 40 60 80 100
Load N
(e)
(b)

(c) cps/eV (f) cps/eV

10
6

5 8

4 6
C Fe Zn Al C Fe Zn Al
B O Cu Si Fe Cu Zn B O Cu Si Fe Cu Zn
3
4
2

2
1

0 0
2 4 6 8 10 2 4 6 8 10

keV keV

Fig. 5. (a) Effect of load and wear rate. (b) MML at 40 N. (c) EDAX at 40 N. (d) MML at 60 N. (e) MML at 100 N. (f) EDAX at 100 N.

in Fig. 5f. Comparing to 40 N and 4 m/s EDAX profile, similar peaks high heat is generated results in the occurrence of the softening of
are observed however there is a distinct difference in the intensity composite pin. In addition to that, peeling off and thrown out of
of Fe peak. It is attributed to large scale third body abrasion of pull formed layer are also observed. It results in increased wear rate
out particles and protruded reinforcement particles. of the composite pin.

3.4. Effect of sliding velocity on wear rate 3.5. Bulk temperature rise

The effect of sliding velocity on wear rate is shown in Fig. 6. It is
observed that the wear rate is reduced up to 4 m/s and then begins
to increase. Increase in sliding velocity increases the steady forma-
tion of tribo layer at the contact surface. Though heat generation is
increased with increase of sliding velocity, the generated heat is in
one way helpful in the formation of boron oxide- rich tribo layer
which would affect the compact layer formation at the contact sur-
face. However when the sliding speed increased beyond the 4 m/s,
The temperature was measured from 1 mm underneath of com-
posite while sliding, The temperature is continuously monitored
with the help of K type thermo couple. The temperature rise re-
ported at end of wear test is reported in Fig. 7. Temperature is
increasing with increase of load. The trend shown by the 1 and
2 m/s for temperature rise is similar. Beyond 3 m/s the visible in-
crease of temperature rise is observed. The temperature increases
with increase in sliding velocity. The temperature rise with sliding
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M. Uthayakumar et al. / Materials and Design 47 (2013) 456–464 461

composite @ 20N velocity within constant duration of test is due to more asperity
20
composite @ 60N contact between the composite and counter surface. However
18
composite @ 80N there is no steep temperature rise up to 60 N because formed tribo
layer reduce the metal to metal contact, thereby reducing frictional
16 heat between the tribo couple. The rapid temperature rise is ob-
wear rateX10-5 mm3/m

served beyond the 60 N wherein more metallic contact results as

14
a result of scarcity in tribo layer at the tribo surface.
12 Typical graph for temperature rise at 60 N load with 1 m/s slid-
ing velocity is presented in Fig. 8 with the temperature rise contin-
10 uously monitored, and the temperature rise is stabilized after
1000 m sliding distance due to steady and stable tribo layer forma-
8
tion. The compacted tribo layer between the tribo surface leads to
6 maintain the steady value of temperature rise after 1000 m.

4 4. Wear mechanism
2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Examination of the worn surfaces of the composite pin showed
many slim grooves and scratch marks along the sliding direction as
Sliding velocity m/s
explained in the previous section. However to augment the wear
Fig. 6. Effect of sliding velocity on wear rate. mechanism, study the worn surfaces at different load and sliding
velocity are necessary and the results are presented in this section.
The typical worn surface of hybrid composites is shown in Fig. 9. At
lower load (60 N) worn surfaces revealed that coverage of tribolay-
110 er and narrow grooved lines are observed from 1 to 3 m/s. The
worn surfaces are covered with smooth tribo layer up to 60 N with
100 range of sliding velocity 1–4 m/s. Wider Grooves and scratching
composite @ 1 m/s
composite @ 2 m/s
becomes more severe at the higher speeds of 1–5 m/s and 100 N.
90
composite @ 3 m/s Such wear features are the characteristics of severe abrasion, in
Temperature rise °C

composite @ 4 m/s which hard asperities on the steel counter face, or pulled out hard
80 composite @ 5 m/s particles in between the contacting surfaces, plough or microcut
into the composite pin, causing wear debris. This suggests that
70 mixed mode of (two body and third body) abrasion occurred
mainly through ploughing which has resulted in wider abrasion
60 groove. It has been noted that abrasion is severe in Al–B4C–SiC
composite due to the presence of dislodged and fractured SiC that
50 becomes entrapped between the sliding surfaces or embedded into
soft aluminum matrix. SiC particles have a modulus lower than B4C
40
reinforcement particles. At 60 N and 5 m/s, the worn surfaces re-
vealed many plastically deformed into wider grooves. At 100 N
20 40 60 80 100 and 5 m/s, the worn surface shows localized metal matrix melting
load N layer. In aluminum hybrid composites it has been found that mild
abrasion is dominant under a load range of 20–60 N and speed
Fig. 7. Effect of temperature rise. range of 1–4 m/s whereas severe abrasion is seen under a load of
100 N, sliding velocity range of 1–4 m/s and melting wear is at high
load and high sliding speed.
When carefully examined at a higher magnification, the worn
48
surface showed three main features: (i) polished ceramic reinforc-
ing particles, (ii) matrix region around the ceramic particles, and
46
(iii) bright debris particles scattered on the surface. The bright
particles were particularly visible on the worn surface examined.
44 In this study a new technique of FIB milling is implemented for
Temperature rise °C

measuring the tribolayer thickness and subsurface structure. FIB-

42 quanta 3D FEG-dual beam was used for this purpose. Rectangular
patterns of size 2 lm  2 lm with a depth of 4 lm were cut in
40 the sample using an ion beam with a current of 5 nA under vacuum.
FIB is used to cut the rectangular trench on wear track in the direc-
composite @ 60N&1m/s
38 tion perpendicular to the sliding direction until a certain depth into
the substrate and the thickness is measured through the cross-
36 sectional analysis of the cut obtained through this milling. The
walls of the cut were viewed under SEM in a tilted position at 52°
34
to clearly see the cross-section of the tribo layer, the substrate
and the interface and the thickness of the tribo film was measured.
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 Sliding contact between the metallic surfaces is accompanied
sliding distance m by plastic deformation. This deformation is localized within a small
volume of material adjacent to contact surfaces and this is known
Fig. 8. Typical temperature rise of composite. as sub-surface deformation. The depth of subsurface deformation
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462 M. Uthayakumar et al. / Materials and Design 47 (2013) 456–464

Fig. 9. Typical worn surface of Al–SiC–B4C composite at different loads and sliding speeds.

is influenced by the sliding parameter. The process of wear debris

formation is closely related to the magnitude of the strain
gradients within the subsurface deformed layer. Typical FIB milled
trench of worn surface is shown in Fig. 10.
It is clearly visible of abrasion mark along the sliding direction.
Tribolayer is loosely interfaced with composite matrix and also
loose wear debris of the composite materials embedded on the sur-
face. FIB-FESEM image at 20 N and 4 m/s is shown in Fig. 11a. It
comprises of the tribolayer and deformed sub structure immedi-
ately underneath of tribo layer. An interaction of boron carbides
against steel irrespective of the composition of the B4C, a dark-grey
film was formed on the steel surface. It also shows the considerable
thickness of tribo layer and thin layer of sub surface deformation.
The formed tribo layer reduced the transference shear force to
underneath of contact surface, resulted in low order of sub surface
layer. The low order of sub surface deformation resulted in fine Fig. 10. FIB-milled trench on the wear track of worn surface.
equi-axed wear debris, as shown in Fig. 11b. The magnitude of
sub surface deformation is increased with increase in normal load,
as evident from Fig. 12a. At higher load and the generated larger It is clearly understood from the results of dry sliding wear of
shear force which produced larger strain gradient between the Al–B4C–SiC composites that hybrid composites can withstand high
contact surface and weaker section at interface of reinforced parti- load.
cles and matrix, as elucidated in the previous section, wear rate is When wear rate of the unreinforced alloy accelerated abruptly,
substantially higher at 100 N. This higher order of sub surface the wear rate of the composite is, at 80 N load the SiC particle se-
deformation produces the larger equiaxed fragmentation of wear vere to suppress the transition to a severe wear rate regime and
debris, as shown in Fig. 12b. impede the transition to load higher than 80 N. But during the
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M. Uthayakumar et al. / Materials and Design 47 (2013) 456–464
Fig. 11. (a) Al–B4C–SiC 20 N and 4 m/s. (b) Wear debris morphology at 20 N and 4 m/s.
Fig. 12. (a) Al–B4C–SiC 100 N and 4 m/s. (b) Wear debris at 100 N and 4 m/s.
lower load region there is no severe wear rate found. At lower end
the load spectrum load about 20 N SiC reinforcement also has a
beneficial effect on wear resistance. Low loads composite rein-
forced with SiC particles shows better wear resistance than unrein-
forced alloys, The increase in wear rate is due to increase in
hardness, higher hardness of SiC and B4C and pinning of dislocation
by these hard particles. The composite also impede the transition
to a higher wear rate regime observed in the matrix alloy above
80 N.
Sliding wear takes place due to relative sliding of two surfaces
in contact with each other under the influence of applied load. Sur-
face and sub surface deformation along with material transition
between the two contour surfaces leads to the formation of MML
of the test specimen. Some amount of material may be oxidized
due to high localized heating under oxidizing atmosphere. As a re-
sult the surface of the specimen consists of oxide layer or mixed
layer of oxides and surface and counter surface material. The de-
gree of oxide layer/MML depends on the applied load. The MML
layer protects the surface effectively from wear. Singh et al. [2] also
reported that the steady formation of MML is completely protect-
ing the contact zone under the mild wear regime. The sliding wear
greatly influenced by the subsurface deformation and cracks. As a
result at high load and high speed material exhibits severe wear
(seizure). This was exactly observed in the present study. Up to
60 N there is an oxide formation; tribo layer formation is attributed
mild wear rate. From 60 N to 100 N plastic deformation occurs
which leads to fracture of SiC and B4C.
463
The wear rate of the composite is less than the alloy due to the
resistance offered by the dispersed particle during sliding. In addi-
tion, the dispersion phase improves high temperature strength of
the matrix alloy. Under the transition load, for severe wear under
such circumstances the mechanically mixed layer gets removed
due to high order of sub surface cracking.
At the stage B4C particle protruded from the sliding surface, the
load on the composite surface would be borne mainly by B4C par-
ticle. It is known that the coefficient of friction between steel and
B4C is lower than that between steel and aluminum alloy [13].
Hence B4C reinforcement in the Al–SiC composites is improved
the wear performance.
5. Conclusion
Aluminum matrix reinforced with 5 wt% SiC and 5 wt% B4C par-
ticles were prepared by stir casting route and the friction and wear
behavior of the composites with different normal load and sliding
speed were investigated using pin-on-disc machine. From the
experimental results the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. The two step stir casting has produced uniformly distributed
reinforcement particles in aluminum matrix. The small addition
of 5% B4C has considerable effect on the wear resistance of the
hybrid composites.
2. The experimental results show that the hybrid composites
retain the wear resistance properties up to 60 N and sliding
 Author's personal copy
464 M. Uthayakumar et al. / Materials and Design 47 (2013) 456–464
speed ranges 1–4 m/s. The enhancement of wear resistance
with small amount of SiC and B4C is achieved by the cooperat-
ing effect of reinforcement particles. B4C particles possibly pro-
duce boron oxide rich tribo layer which has reduced the
progress of wear and coefficient of friction.
3. This hybrid composites show that, it could not perform better at
higher load and higher sliding speed. The wear rate and coeffi-
cient of friction are decreased with increasing sliding speed up
to 4 m/s and as a result, rate formation of tribo layer is higher
than tearing of formed tribo layer, whereas the trend is reversed
in higher sliding speed.
4. FIB study on the subsurface deformation shows that deforma-
tion is increased with increasing the normal load. The wear deb-
ris formation is largely influenced by the tribo layer thickness
and subsurface deformation, and wear debris become smaller
and eqaxied when the subsurface deformation is smaller.
5. The operating wear mechanisms are plastic deformation driven
by mild abrasion and severe abrasion at normal load ranges 20–
60 N and 80–100 N and sliding velocity ranges 1–4 m/s
respectively.
6. The melt wear is also observed at higher load and high sliding
speed due to high order of local stress prevailing at the
condition.
Acknowledgement
The corresponding author submits his thanks to Tamil Nadu
State Council for Science and Technology for the support to carry-
out this work in Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, under
Young Scientist Fellowship Scheme (YSFS).
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