STUDY OF WEAR PROPERTIES OF ALUMINUM ALLOY 332 AT DIFFERENCE SLIDING DISTANCE

Abstract

This paper reports on wear properties of aluminum alloy 332 (AA332) sliding under different distances. A pin on disc wear-testing machine is used to evaluate the wear properties of the AA332, in which a cast iron cylinder block liner is used as the counterface material. The optical microscope equipped with a digital camera is used to analyse the microstructure and worn surfaces of the AA332. The microstructure of AA332 consists of a structure of α-Al matrix, silicon particle and eutectic silicone. The eutectic silicon present as needle-like shape and silicon particle forming as polyhedral or blocky shape. Wear behaviour results show that the volume loss increases proportionally to the sliding distance. The wear coefficient indicated an abrasive wear occurred during sliding and the wear rate also increased with the increase in sliding distance. All the worn surfaces are seen with a distinct pattern of ploughing (grooves and ridges) running parallel to one another ensuring typical characteristic of sliding wear.