Sliding Wear Behaviour of Zircon Sand Reinforced LM13 Alloy Prepared by Spray Forming Technique

Abstract

In present work, we have studied the wear behavior of LM13 alloy and LM13/zircon sand composite prepared by spray forming technique. For the comparative purpose the spray formed LM13 alloy is tested under dry sliding condition at different temperature. The wear rate of spray formed composite is significantly lower than the as cast LM13 alloy. The microstructure of spray formed composite is characterized by fine size equiaxed grain. The reinforced particles are equally distributed throughout the matrix of the composite. The as prepared samples were studied using SEM and X-ray diffraction techniques. The XRD results indicate the different phases present in the matrix. Hardness of the prepared samples also has been tested. Mode of wear mechanism has been analyzed from SEM micrograph of worn pin surface and collected debris during the dry sliding run. Composites are found to offer greater wear resistance than base alloy.