High-Temperature Tribological Behavior of Al-20Si-5Fe-2Ni/ZrB2 Composites

In this work, Al-20Si-5Fe-2Ni/ZrB2 composites with 0–20 wt% ZrB2 were fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The effects of ZrB2 content on the microstructure, mechanical properties and high-temperature tribological behavior of the composites were investigated. The results indicate that Si, Al5FeSi, and ZrB2 particles are uniformly distributed in the aluminum matrix. The density, hardness, and compressive strength increase with increasing ZrB2 content. The friction coefficient and wear rate are dependent on the ZrB2 content and test temperature. At a certain temperature, the friction coefficient increases with an increase in ZrB2 content, whereas the wear rate shows a reverse trend. Due to the improvement in thermal stability and high-temperature softening resistance, the composite shows improved wear resistance and increased transition temperature from mild wear to severe wear.