WEAR BEHAVIOUR OF B-AlMg, INTERMETALLICNANO PARTICLE REINFORCEDALUMINUMMATRXINANOCOMPOSITES

Aluminium based metal matrix composites reinforced with B-AlMg2 intermetallic nanoparticle were prepared by mechanical milling and hot pressing methods. nanoparticles was synthesized by mechanical milling of pre-alloyed B-AlMg intermetallic compound ingot in attritor ball mill. The content of reinforcement in the composite was varied from 0 to 20% wt.%, to study the effect of particles concentration on wear. The composites were prepared by mechanical milling and hot pressing. Results clearly indicate that increasing the volume percentage of 3-AlMg2 nanoparticles in the composite improves both the hardness and the wear resistance. As the B-AlMg2 amount increases from 3 to 20 wt.% wear rate decreases by 60%. Nanocomposite revealed a low frictioncoefficient of 0.4 which are significantly lower than those obtained for pure Al matrix. SEM tests revealed complex combination of wear mechanisms on the surface of the worn test specimens. A transition in wear mechanism from delimitation to abrasive wear observed in high amounts of reinforcement.