Mechanical property analysis and dry sand three-body abrasive wear behaviour of AZ31/ZrO2 composites produced by stir casting

Abstract

An experimental study of three body abrasive wear behaviour of AZ31/15 vol.% Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) reinforced composites prepared by stir casting has been carried out. Microstructural analysis of the developed composites was carried out and found out that the microstructure of the composites revealed a uniform distribution of ZrO2 particles with refinement in the grain size of the matrix from 70 to 20 µm. The alterations in the microstructure led to an enhancement in both hardness (68–104 HV) and tensile strength (156–236 MPa) due to Orowan strengthening, quench hardening effect and better bonding. Response surface methodology was applied to formulate the three-body abrasive wear test characteristics such as load, speed, and time. Three body abrasive test results were utilized to generate surface graphs for different combinations of wear test parameters revealed an increase in specific wear rate. The specific wear rate was observed to increase with increase in speed up to a certain level and then started to decrease. The lowest possible specific wear rate was obtained for an optimized load of 20 N and a speed of 190 ms−1. Scanning electron microscopic examination of wear-tested samples showed higher specific wear rate at higher loads with predominantly abrasion type material removal. In conclusion, this study makes a substantial contribution to the field by elucidating the complex relationships among microstructure, mechanical properties, and the three-body abrasive wear behavior of AZ31/ZrO2 composites. The determination of optimal wear conditions and the insights gained into wear mechanisms provide valuable information for designing materials, implementing engineering solutions, and advancing the creation of wear-resistant components across a range of industries.