Investigation of Production and Abrasive Wear Behavior of Functionally Graded TiB2/Al and TiB2/Al-4Cu Composites

Abstract

In this study, it is aimed to investigate the production and abrasive wear properties of functionally graded TiB2/Al and TiB2/Al-4Cu composites. Using in situ technique, titanium di-boride (TiB2) particles are being spontaneously formed in liquid matrix, resulting in a Al-(l) + TiB2(S) semisolid at 900 degrees C. The semisolid solidifies under a centrifugal force at 1500 rpm rotation speed in a steel mold to produce functionally graded composites. The properties of composites such as density, abrasive wear, hardness and microstructure were examined by dividing into four zones from the outside to the inside of the composite. Volume loss of composites were examined by using L-16(4(1)2(4)) orthogonal design, considering some factors such as matrix type of composites, region of composites, abrasive particle size, sliding speed and sliding load according to Taguchi method. The results showed that both TiB2/Al and TiB2/Al-Cu composites had two regions: the TiB2-reinforced and non-reinforced regions. It was determined that the volume loss increased with increasing load, speed and abrasive particle size and decreased with increasing TiB2 particles reinforcement ratio.