A Study of Microstructure and Wear Behaviour of Titanium Carbide Reinforced Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites

Abstract

Aluminium (Al) reinforced with Titanium Carbide (TiC) Metal Matrix composites find its application for elevated temperature operating conditions. The Metal matrix composites (MMCs) were prepared by using powder metallurgy technique, where the TiC is reinforced with Al matrix by 5, 10 and 15 weight percentage. The objective this paper is to study of microstructure and wear characteristics of TiN reinforced Al MMCs. The effect of sliding velocity on the wear behavior and tribo-chemistry of the wear surface of both matrix and composites has been studied. The pin-on-disc machine was employed to determine the rate of wear.The wear study was conducted by varying the load and speed. It is found that the rate of wear was increased with an increase in load and sliding speed for both Al and MMCs. However the rate of wear is less in MMCs than the Al. The Scanning Electron Microscopy equipped with EDS analysis were used to stud microstructure of composites.