Influence of TiB2 addition on friction and wear behaviour of Al2024-TiB2 ex-situ composites

Present work encapsulated the friction and wear behaviour of aluminium matrix composites reinforced with different mass fractions of titanium diboride (TiB₂) particles, synthesized by stir casting. A pin on disc tribotester was employed for conducting the dry sliding wear tests of Al2024-TiB₂ composites. The tests were performed adopting various parameters like load, sliding distance and sliding velocity for investigating the effect of tribological parameters on the prepared composites. Microstructural characterization confirmed uniform dispersion of TiB₂ particles and good matrix-reinforcement bonding. Results of the experiments revealed that, low friction and wear rates were observed in the developed composites compared to Al2024 alloy, whereas wear rates of both Al2024 alloy and fabricated composites increased with the increase in load, sliding velocity and sliding distance. However, friction coefficient of both Al2024 alloy and fabricated composites reduced with the increase in applied load but rose with the increase in sliding velocity and sliding distance. SEM studies of the worn surfaces and debris depicted that enhancement in wear resistance can be ascribed to finer debris formation.