Examining the abrasive wear properties of LM22 aluminum alloy reinforced with SiC and B4C nanoparticles

The LM22 aluminum (Al) alloy grades are frequently employed in the fabrication of gears, bearing surfaces, cylinder liners, pistons, camshafts, and bushes. To expand the engineering applications of LM22 alloy, nanocomposites are fabricated from the LM22 Al alloy. In this paper, a new hybrid metal matrix nanocomposite (MMNC) was made with LM22-0.5 wt% nano-B 4 C and “x” weight percentage nano-SiC (where, x = 0.5 wt%, 1 wt%, and 1.5 wt% except for the base alloy) particles. The MMNCs were produced by stir-ultrasonication casting method, where the LM22 melt was sonicated and stirred at the same time to achieve good quality hybrid MMNCs. The rate of wear and the coefficient of friction were measured with a pin-on-disc tribometer under the various dry sliding circumstances. The results of the experiments showed that when hard ceramic nano-SiC particles were added to the hybrid nanocomposite, the wear characteristics was found to be considerably better. When the reinforcing percentage increased, the coefficient of friction (COF) decreased. The results revealed that the highly concentrated LM22 with 0.5 wt% nano-B 4 C and 1.5 wt% nano-SiC hybrid nanocomposite had the lowest COF values of all the nanocomposites tested. Scanning Electron Microscopy was used to study the morphology of the hybrid nanocomposites. Fine grooves and minor abrasion are seen on the worn surface of the hybrid nanocomposite.