Wear behavior of the Al (LM24)–garnet particulate composites under dry sliding conditions

Dry sliding wear behavior of LM24 cast alloy reinforced with garnet particulate composite against EN32 steel disc was investigated, using a pin-on-disc tribometer. Experiments were carried out with sliding velocity ranging from 1.0 to 3.0 m/s, different load conditions from 20 to 80 N, and with a constant sliding distance of 3000 m. Samples were prepared with different weight percentage of garnet in the alloy varying from 3% to 15% in a step of 3 wt% prepared by liquid metallurgical technique. Scanning electron microscopy was used to realize the distribution of reinforcement in the matrix material and mechanism of wear. Experiments showed that the 15% garnet composite exhibited lower wear rate at all applied loads. The wear resistance was better at low loads and mild to severe wear was exhibited when load/sliding velocity was increased.