Study on wear of casting aluminium alloys

Recently the demand for aluminium alloys with a view to lightening the weight of various machine parts has been increasing in the field of the automobile and other industries. However, there are few data obtainable conerning the wear characteristics of aluminium alloys. So how some of the typical casting aluminium alloys, e.g., Lautal, Low-Ex., Y-alloy and hyper-eutectic Aluminium-Silicon alloy wear out against the same alloys and carbon steel respectively, is examined under unlubricated condition. The results are summerized as follows.1. In discussing the wear resistance of materials, it is to be noted that wear varies with the combination of materials to be pitted against such other.2. In the case of alloys against the same kind of alloys, the wear resistance of aluminium alloys is sometimes firmer than that of the carbon steel at relatively low speed of sliding, but as the sliding speed is increased, Lautal, Low-Ex. and Y-alloy may generate a partial welding phenomenon (scuffing) on the frictional surface. This is particularly remarkable in Lautal and Low-Ex. because the melting point of aluminium alloys is relatively low. However, it is of interest that so far as this experiment goes scuffing does not occur in hyper-eutectic Aluminium-Silicon alloy, and the wear loss of this alloy is far smaller than those of other aluminium alloys.3. In the case of aluminium alloys against carbon steel the wear loss is very small irrespective of the sliding speed and the contact pressure. In this experiment, those combinations reveal mild wear and the surface roughness is very little.