Performance studies on hybrid nano-metal matrix composites for wear and surface quality

Aluminium-based hybrid nano-metal matrix composites are right materials, finding application in the aerospace and automotive industry. The present research focused on the effects of sliding load, sliding velocity, and temperature on wear behaviour of a novel hybrid metal matrix nano-composite. Stir-squeeze casting setup is used to produce the composites. The base metal is scrap aluminium alloy wheel (SAAW) reinforced with 1, 2, wt.% and 5.5, 7 wt.% of micro-sized alumina (Al2O3)m and nano-sized alumina (Al2O3)n particle respectively. An orthogonal array L9 (OA) has been used for designing the experiments. Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is applied to find the optimal condition for Coefficient of Friction (COF), wear, surface roughness. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) results show that the reinforcement contributes 19.40% and most influencing factor is sliding load with 62.33%. The samples tested were examined and analyzed using a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). Additionally, a profilometer was used to measure the surface roughness of the worn-out specimen.