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Sliding Wear Properties of a Composite of Aluminum 2024 Powder Reinforced

with Heat Treatment and Silicon Carbide

Article  in  Journal of Engineering and Technological Sciences · November 2018

DOI: 10.5614/j.eng.technol.sci.2018.50.5.3

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624 J. Eng. Technol. Sci., Vol. 50, No. 5, 2018, 624-634

Sliding Wear Properties of a Composite of Aluminum 2024

Powder Reinforced with Heat Treatment and Silicon
Carbide
Ahmed Sahib Mahdi

Alnasiriyah Technical Institute, Southern Technical University (STU), Baghdad Street,

Basrah 64001, Iraq
E-mail: Ahmed.altaei@stu.edu.iq

Abstract. Wear behavior of aluminum alloy 2024 was investigated. Three

patterns of specimens, namely, fabricated (compacted), reinforced with silicon
carbide only and reinforced with silicon carbide followed by heat-treatment
(quenching and aging processes) were selected. The effect of load on the
specimen was studied for each type of pattern. Three values of load (10, 12.5 and
15N) were tested to investigate the wear behavior. The experimental results
showed that the weight loss was 0.056 g for the specimen reinforced with silicon
carbide and heat treatment, while it was 0.069 and 0.067 g for the as-fabricated
specimen and the specimen reinforced with silicon carbide only, respectively.
The increase of microhardness caused increased wear resistance and thus the
weight loss was reduced. The microhardness increased with the increase of the
ratio of silicon carbide, while, conversely, the density decreased with the
increase of the ratio of silicon carbide. The maximum value of hardness was
observed for the specimen reinforced with 5% of Sic followed with heat
treatment at 284 Hv, while for the specimens reinforced with 4% and 3% Sic it
was 255 and 227 Hv, respectively. It can be concluded that when heat treatment
and reinforcement by Sic particles are performed, the microhardness value of
aluminum 2024 will increase.

Keywords: aluminum 2024; density; microhardness; reinforcement material;

silicon carbide; wear test.

1 Introduction
High-copper content aluminum alloys are generally defined as those with more
than approximately 3.8 wt% copper content. Processing an alloy such as 2024
aluminum as a metal matrix composite (MMC) is necessary because it is
commonly used in a wide range of industrial parts, such as shafts, gears, aircraft
fittings, pistons, hydraulic valve bodies and worm gears. Silicon carbide is often
used as reinforcement due to the higher hardness of its particles than that of the
matrix. However, if orthodox routes of solidification are used, then negative
qualities such as a brittle product or low toughness are obtained [1]. Aluminum
matrix composites (AMCs) have good tribological and mechanical properties.

Received February 2nd, 2018, Revised August 23rd, 2018, Accepted for publication November 1st, 2018.
Copyright ©2018 Published by ITB Journal Publisher, ISSN: 2337-5779, DOI: 10.5614/j.eng.technol.sci.2018.50.5.3
 Sliding Wear Properties of a Composite of Aluminum 2024 625

Hence their use in automobile, space, defense, and aircraft industries. In

addition, this characteristic can be convenient to satisfy explicit requirements
[2].

There are several factors that influence MMC wear. The influence of speed on
wear resistance has been documented. The wear rate is significantly influenced
by load and its direction. [3]. Hybrid metal matrix composites have gained
increased interest in recent years due to their improved collective properties
(tribological, physical and mechanical) [4]. When a ceramic reinforcement is
added to the aluminum matrix, such as silicon carbide particles, the properties
are further enhanced, thus making it a potential material for abundant
lightweight applications [5]. Various common techniques can be used for
enhancing the strength of materials, such as strain hardening, grain size
refinement, precipitation hardening and solid solution hardening [6]. Studies
have proved that aluminum matrix composites reinforced with metal carbide
increase wear resistance and thus decrease the wear rate [7].

In the current paper, the constituents were produced with powder metallurgy.
The wear resistance was tested in relation to the content of silicon carbide and
heat treatment. Various load values were tested.

2. Experimental procedure

2.1 Material
Aluminum 2024 generally has good machinability. It is a light metal that has
high ultimate tensile strength compared other aluminum alloys and good surface
finishing capability. Therefore it has superseded many other aluminum alloys in
industry. The density value for aluminum 2024 is 2.78 g/cm3. The chemical
composition is illustrated in Table 1.

Zinc stearate powder was mixed with aluminum 2024 powder as a binder to
facilitate the process. A mixer machine was applied to mix the constituents for
1.5 h, at a speed of 250 RPM to ensure that the mixture was completed. Equal
ratios for all specimens were performed. 1% zinc stearate powder and 99%
aluminum powder 2024 were used as mixture.

In the current research, cold compaction was conducted on the powder. The
process was performed at room temperature. A uniaxial hydraulic press was
used as cold press. One side was used to supply the pressure while the other
side was fixed. A lubricant-saturated solution was used to clean the wall of the
die to ensure the ejection of the specimen from the die after the process was
finished [8]. Further bonding between atoms was provided during the sintering
626 Ahmed Sahib Mahdi

process. Hence, atomic diffusion occurred. Heating and cooling rate time affect
the sintering process. Similarly, atmosphere and temperature were controlled
[9].

Table 1 Chemical composition of Aluminum 2024.

Elem. Nominal Experimental

value value
Si 0.50 0.48
Fe 0.50 0.49
Cu 3.8-4.9 4.1
Mn 0.3-0.9 0.6
Mg 1.2-1.8 1.4
Cr 0.1 0.9
Zn 0.25 0.23
Ti 0.15 0.12
Al Rem Rem

A tube furnace was used during the sintering process; argon gas was used as the
inert gas for this process. The sintering temperature was determined according
to the relationship between sintering temperature and melting temperature =
(0.7 to 0.9 Tm), where Tm is the melting temperature.

2.2 Heat Treatment

Heat treatment was used to improve the mechanical and physical properties.
The microstructure changed during exposure of the specimen to an elevated
temperature under controlled heating rate after which it was exposed to delay
time. Next, it was cooled to room temperature under a controlled cooling rate.
Under this process, solid state transformation occurred, whereby the mechanical
and physical properties were improved. The relationship between hardness and
wear resistance is proportioned, making the heat treatment beneficial to the
process of improvement of the wear rate [10].

Two paths, namely, quenching and artificial aging, were performed in this step.
The quenching process was conducted at 550 °C for a duration of 1 h followed
by water-cooling to room temperature. The next process (aging) was performed
at 170 °C for 6 h followed by air-cooling to room temperature. Figure 1
illustrates the profile of the quenching and aging processes [11].
 Sliding Wear Properties of a Composite of Aluminum 2024 627

Quenching 550oC for 1h

Temperature

Aging 170oC for 6h

Time (h)

Figure 1 Heat treatment procedure.

2.3 Wear Test

A pin-on-disk test was performed. The disk was made of stainless steel, with a
hardness of 175 Hv. The thickness and diameter of the disk were 2 and 180 mm,
respectively. The distance between the center of the disk and the center of the
specimen was 3 cm. The duration of the test was 10 min. A sensitive balance
determined the weight with an accuracy of 0.0001 g. The disk was carefully
cleaned after each test. Adhesive wear was applied in this research.

Three groups were selected to determine the wear rate. The first group consisted
of the as-fabricated specimen under compaction parameters. The second group
consisted of specimens reinforced with silicon carbide. The third group
consisted of specimens reinforced with silicon carbide followed by heat
treatment. The percentages of metal reinforcement were 3%, 4%, and 5% for
each group. Three loads were applied to each specimen, i.e. 10, 12.5 and 15 N.
Table 2 presents the classification of the specimens.

Table 2 Classification of Specimens

Sub-
Symbol Detail
symbol
I
I Load variation at 10, 12.5, and 15 N
As-fabricated
II II1 3% silicon carbide, loads of 10, 12.5, and 15 N
Reinforced with silicon II2 4% silicon carbide, loads of 10, 12.5, and 15 N
carbide II3 5% silicon carbide, loads of 10, 12.5, and 15 N
III III1 3% silicon carbide, loads of 10, 12.5, and 15 N
Reinforced with silicon III2 4% silicon carbide, loads of 10, 12.5, and 15 N
carbide and heat treatment III3 5% silicon carbide, loads of 10, 12.5, and 15 N
628 Ahmed Sahib Mahdi

3 Results and Discussion

Some components in the action mechanism broke because of problems
occurring in the microstructure of the material. The quality and performance of
the components were enhanced by improvement of the microstructure.
Complicated problems occur with metal wear because of the microstructures
and constituents of the materials, thus affecting the wear resistance and
mechanism. Weight loss was used to evaluate wear resistance.

Wear, microhardness and density tests were also conducted in the current
research. These tests gave a sufficiently good idea for the objectives of the
current research.

3.1 Reinforcement by Silicon Carbide

Silicon carbide powder is one of the most common powder varieties. It is used
for an extensive range of applications, for example in industrial processing,
brake discs, LEDs and casting. Silicon carbide has a hardness of 2800 Hv and a
density of 3.16 g/cm3.

Three reinforcement percentages were selected, i.e. 3%, 4%, and 5%. Figure 2
displays the relationship between load and wear rate of the as-fabricated
aluminum specimen and the specimens of aluminum with a certain percentage
of silicon carbide powder (heat-treated and non-heat-treated). Figure 2 also
shows that the wear rate increased for all samples when the load was increased
because the friction force was increased. Conversely, the wear rate decreased
for each sample (heat-treated and non-heat-treated) when the silicon carbide
percentage increased. Thus, the decreasing rate can be attributed to the higher
hardness of silicon carbide than that of aluminum.

The wear rate was affected by using different volume fractions of silicon
carbide. The wear rate decreased with the increase of the volume fraction of
silicon carbide. This decrease may be attributed to the higher hardness of the
sample. At any rate, the heat treatment process improved the wear rate and the
results of the heat-treated specimens showed a slightly decreased wear rate,
whereas the wear rate increased more in the specimens without heat treatment.
Thus, using silicon carbide particles as a reinforcement material with heat
treatment was concluded to give better results. The maximum wear rate was
observed for the as-fabricated specimen. The wear rate was 790 × 10-9 for 10 N
load, while the wear rates were 910 × 10-9 and 1030 × 10-9 for loads of 12.5
and 15 N.
 Sliding Wear Properties of a Composite of Aluminum 2024 629

1100

1000
Wear rate (g/cm) X10-9

900

800

700

As-fabricated (I)
600
3% Sic (II1)
4% Sic (II2)
500 5% Sic (II3)
3% Sic + HT (III1)
400 4% Sic + HT (III2)
7.5 10 12.5 15 5% Sic + HT (III3)
Load (N)

Figure 2 Load against wear resistance of the specimens reinforced with silicon
carbide (heat-treated and non-heat-treated) compared with the as-fabricated
specimen.

For the second group (reinforced by Sic only), when the applied load was
increased, the wear rate increased. The wear rate was 770 × 10-9 for 10 N load,
840 × 10-9 for 12.5N load and 960 × 10-9 for 15 N load. When the particle
reinforcement percentage was increased, the wear rate decreased. The wear rate
value for the specimen reinforced with 4% Sic, with applied load at 10, 12.5 and
15 N was 750 × 10-9, 800 × 10-9, and 920 × 10-9, respectively. Likewise, the
wear rate value for the specimen reinforced by 5% Sic with applied load at 10,
12.5 and 15 N was 710 × 10-9, 760 × 10-9, and 880 × 10-9, respectively.

Heat treatment was used to increase the hardness. The wear rate results were
related to the microhardness values of the specimens. When the microhardness
value was increased, the wear rate decreased. Furthermore, the wear rate of the
specimens with load at 10 N for each and reinforced with Sic particles at 3%,
4% and 5% was 640 × 10-9, 590 × 10-9, and 500 × 10-9, respectively. This
decrease of the wear rate is attributed to the increase of the microhardness of the
specimen. Figure 3 shows the surface friction of the samples. In this figure, high
friction strength appears on the surface especially for the areas that contained
Sic particles. Thus, it can be seen that some areas have easy plastic deformation
630 Ahmed Sahib Mahdi

(without Sic), while others have hard plastic deformation (with Sic). Figure 4
shows the microstructure of the specimens.

Figure 3 Friction surface area of wear test for different samples: (A) as-
fabricated; (B) reinforced with Sic; (C) reinforced with Sic followed by heat
treatment.

porosity

Figure 4 Microstructure of the specimens: (A) as-fabricated; (B) reinforced

with Sic; (C) reinforced with Sic followed by heat treatment.
 Sliding Wear Properties of a Composite of Aluminum 2024 631

The improvement ratio was calculated for all specimens. It was 2.9% for the
specimen with 3% silicon carbide (II1) without heat treatment, while the
improvement ratios were 6.1 and 11.1% for the specimens with 4% and 5%
silicon carbide (II2 and II3), respectively, at a load of 10 N. The improvement
ratios were 12.3%, 13.5% and 16% for specimens III1, III2 and III3,
respectively. Therefore, silicon carbide reinforcement followed by heat
treatment can be considered the best process. Figure 5 illustrates the
improvement ratios of the specimens. Umanath, et al. [12] investigated AA6061
alloy reinforced with various volume fractions (i.e. 5% to 25%) of silicon
carbide. According to their research, the surfaces of the wear area of the
reinforced alloy were rougher than the surfaces of the non-reinforced alloy. The
analysis was conducted by SEM.

18
16
improvement ratio

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
II1 II2 II3 III1 III2 III3
type of specimen
Figure 5 Improvement ratio and type of specimen.

310
290
microhardness (Hv)

270
250
230
210
190 Reinforced with Sic
Reinforced with Sic + HT
170
150
2 3 4 5 6
Percentage of Silicon carbide %

Figure 6 Values of microhardness for the specimens reinforced with silicon

carbide powder.
632 Ahmed Sahib Mahdi

Figure 6 shows the relationship between the microhardness of the used patterns
and the percentage of silicon carbide. It can be seen that the value of
microhardness of the specimen reinforced with Sic followed by heat treatment
was higher than that of the specimen reinforced with Sic only. On the other
hand, the value of microhardness increased with an increased percentage of
silicon carbide because the value of hardness of Sic is higher than that of
aluminum according to the mixture rule. From this test it can be concluded that
the wear rate was related to the microhardness for all the specimens, and
therefore when the microhardness was increased, the wear rate decreased.

Figure 7 shows the relationship between density and reinforcement with silicon
carbide powder followed by heat treatment. It is an inverse relationship, in
which density decreases when the percentage of silicon carbide increases. On
the other hand, the density decreased upon using heat treatment because of the
increased grain size of the aluminum (with temperature increased to 550 °C
followed by quenching), therefore, when the volume of the specimen was
increased, the density decreased. In addition, a porosity was created between the
grains as can be seen in Figure 4(c). Based on the results, the density values for
the specimens reinforced with 3%, 4% and 5% Sic were 2.8, 2.795 2.79
Kg/cm3, respectively, while they were 2.772, 2.767 and 2.76 Kg/cm3,
respectively, for the specimens reinforced with Sic followed by heat treatment.

2.81 Reinforced with Sic

2.8 Reinforced with Sic + HT
Density (g/cm3)

2.79
2.78
2.77
2.76
2.75
2 3 4 5 6
Percentage of Silicon carbide %

Figure 7 Density and reinforcement with silicon carbide powder.

4 Conclusion
The results of this study revealed the relationship between wear resistance for
aluminum 2024 and reinforcement with different percentages of metal (Sic) and
heat treatment. A maximum microhardness value of 284 Hv was detected in this
 Sliding Wear Properties of a Composite of Aluminum 2024 633

study for the specimen reinforced with 5% silicon carbide followed by heat
treatment. The minimum value of microhardness was 216 Hv for the specimen
reinforced with 3% Sic without heat treatment. Therefore, it can be concluded
that the amount of metal reinforcement and heat treatment increased the
microhardness value.

By contrast, the reinforced and heat-treated specimens exhibited high wear

resistance (a lower wear rate), i.e. 650 × 10-9, whereas the as-fabricated
specimen exhibited low wear resistance (a higher wear rate), i.e. 790 ×10-9.
These results refer to the value of microhardness. Density is related to the heat
treatment process. The density value decreased with the increase of the
temperature during the heat treatment process. Likewise, the volume of the
specimen increased and thus the density decreased. This study on reinforcement
of aluminum 2024 by silicon carbide addition and heat treatment was
successfully conducted.

Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Southern Technical University for providing
suitable laboratories to complete investigation. In addition, much help was
provided by Nasiriya Technical Institute, which included providing of
equipment and materials.

References
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