Estimation of Wear Performance of Al-based Composite Reinforced with Al2O3 and MoS2 Using Taguchi Approach

The present study is focused on the tribological performance of Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), and Alumina (Al2O3) used as reinforcement in Al-Si-Mg alloy. By adapting the stir casting route, aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) are manufactured. The process variables such as weight percent of reinforcement i.e., Al2O3 (4, 8, 12 and 16 wt. percent ), and MoS2 (2 and 4 wt. percent), sliding velocity (1 m/s, 1.5 m/s, and 2 m/s), and load (10, 20 and 30 N), on tribological responses are wear rate and coefficient of friction. The experiments are intended to use the Taguchi Orthogonal array (L27). Mechanical properties such as hardness and tensile strength have been evaluated and hybrid metal matrix composites (HMC) have shown significant improvement. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed wear rate and coefficient of friction decreased with an increase in sliding speed and increased with the applied load. The worn-out, fractured composite surfaces are examined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). A predominant wear mechanism is observed at low load has a combination of adhesive and abrasive wear, accompanied by high load as adhesive wear. The hybrid composites exhibited improved wear resistance and low friction coefficient as compared to the base alloy.