Tribological Behaviour of Aluminium-Copper-Cullet Metal Composite

Abstract

An Aluminium composite metal, Al-Cu-CP was fabricated from recycled raw materials. The composite was fabricated by means of stir casting method due to its simplicity and economic worth. The composite and the unreinforced Al were both analysed for chemical and mechanical properties. The Al-Cu-CP metal composite produced has shown appreciable level of wear resistance and corrosion resistance in artificial seawater (3.5 g/L NaCl) and allowed to stand for 96 h at room temperature. Different loads were considered for the wear resistance tests, 5 N, 10 N, 15 N and 20 N while 150 rpm, 250 rpm, 350 rpm and 450 rpm were the speeds selected for the adhesive wear resistance test. Improved properties were observed after heat treatment of the Al-Cu-CP metal composite. The heat treated composite was more resistant to corrosion than the untreated composite and it has been confirmed that the corrosion resistance of the materials under study has direct relationship with the immersion period. When the maximum load was applied to the three (3) sets of the samples (unreinforced, treated and treated composites), severe degrees of wear manifested on their various surfaces. Optical images from morphological analysis revealed that wear severity was highest on the surface of the unreinforced matrix, followed by the untreated metal composite and the heat-treated composite was found to be the least affected. Due to these enhanced properties of the Al-Cu-CP metal composite, it could be recommended where high strength with light density product is required such as automobile brake shoes and brake disc as a result of its upgraded mechanical properties.