machine design, Vol.3(2011) No.4, ISSN 1821-1259 pp.

293-296
Research paper

INFLUENCE OF MELT TREATMENTS ON DRY SLIDING WEAR BEHAVIOR

OF HYPEREUTECTIC AL-15SI CAST ALLOYS
P.V.Chandra Sekhar RAO1, * - A.Satya DEVI2 - K.G. Basava KUMAR3
1
Mechanical Engineering Department, L.B.Reddy College of Engineering, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India
2
Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Andhra University, India
3
Department of R&D, B.T.L. Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India

Received (18.04.2011); Revised (22.04.2011); Accepted (25.04.2011)

Abstract: In the present paper , the influence of modifier and refiner on wear- friction behavior of hypereutectic Al-
15Si alloy has been investigated. Pin on disc wear tests were conducted under dry sliding conditions against hardened
steel counter surface with sliding speed 1 m/s and under varying loads ranging from 20 N to 100 N. It was observed
that wear rate is a function of load and wear resistance of the unmodified alloys decreases with increasing load. The
microstructures and dry sliding wear behavior of Al-15Si cast alloys were studied after various melt treatments like
refinement and/or modification.

Key words: Refinement; Modification; Tribometer; Al-15Si cast alloys.

1. INTRODUCTION reported that the hyper-eutectic alloys wear more than the
hypo eutectic alloys. Somi Reddy et al [9] investigated the
The usage of cast Al-Si alloy components in automobile, wear and seizure behavior of Al-Si alloy containing
marine and other engineering sectors has increased silicon content up to 23 wt% using Pin-On-Disc wear
significantly in the recent years. One of the major driving testing machine under various loads. It was observed that
forces for the development of Al-Si cast alloys is the high addition of silicon to aluminum increases the wear and
strength to weight ratio, superior wear resistance, low seizure resistance. M. Harun et al [10] has investigated
coefficient of thermal expansion, high thermal the effects of element additions on the wear of Al-Si
conductivity, high corrosion resistance, excellent alloys.
castability, etc. which makes them potential candidate Hence it is obvious from the above that there is still no
materials for a number of tribological applications in clear agreement in the literature regarding the wear
automobiles and other engineering sectors where they can resistance of Al-Si alloys. The dry sliding wear behavior
successfully replace cast iron components in heavy wear of a polyphase alloys is difficult and it is not a simple
applications. Al-Si alloys are mainly used in cast form in function of composition. The present work therefore has
important components like pistons , engine blocks , been undertaken to investigate the influence of either
cylinder liners, rocker arms, air conditioner compressors, refiner or modifier or combined addition of both on dry
brake drums etc. The improvement in the sliding sliding wear behavior of cast Al-15Si alloy against a
wear resistance and mechanical properties depends on hardened steel disc by using a Pin-On-Disc wear testing
number of material related properties like shape, size and machine. The details of the alloys, modification and
size distribution of the second phase particles in the refinement of various alloys are given in the Table1.
matrix and microstructures in addition to the operating
conditions such as sliding speed, load, sliding distance, Table 1. Al-15Si cast alloys used for test specimens.
temperature etc. Hardness of material is usually thought
Addition Addition
of as a wear controlling property. However, it should be Alloy
Sl Alloy level of level of
noted that it is the hardness of the contacting asperities design-
No composition modifier refiner
and not the bulk hardness that will control the wear rate. nation
(%wt) (%wt)
The addition of hard second phase particles to the matrix
1 HR-1 Al-15Si -- --
increases both the mechanical and wear properties [1-3].
2 HR-2 Al-15Si-0.04Sr 0.04 --
A number of investigations have been reported on the dry
sliding wear behavior of the cast Al-Si alloys. These 3 HR-3 Al-15Si-0.04P -- 0.04
reports are very conflicting in nature. Shivanath et al.[4] Al-15Si-0.04P-
4 HR-3M 0.04 0.04
reported that wear resistance is good in the hypereutectic, 0.04Sr
J.Clarke and A.D.Sarkar [5] report it to be in and around
the eutectic and B.N.Pramila Bai et al [6,7] report that 2. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
silicon has no effect on the wear of Al-Si alloys until
it exceeds 20 wt%. Sarkar [8] studied the wear of Al-Si Four different Al-15Si alloys were used during this
alloys against hardened steel disc and gray cast iron and investigation. HR-1 was the unmodified one. Alloy HR-2

*Correspondence Author’s Address: Mechanical Engineering Department, L.B.Reddy College of Engineering, Mylavaram-521 230,
Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India, pvc70@rediffmail.com
 P.V.Chandra Sekhar Rao, A.Satya Devi, K.G. Basava Kumar: Influence of Melt Treatments on Dry Sliding Wear Behavior
of Hypereutectic Al-15Si Cast Alloys; Machine Design, Vol.3(2011) No.4, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 293-296
was modified with Strontium and HR-3 was refined with
Phosphorous. Alloy HR-3M was refined and modified
with Sr and P respectively. Al-15Si alloy was prepared by
melting high purity aluminum (99.7%) with master alloy
Al-20%Si in clay graphite crucible in a pit type resistance
furnace and the melt was held at 8500C. Melt was
degassed with 1% solid hexachloroethane before the
addition of modifier/grain refiner. Modification was done
by the addition of 0.04%wt Sr in the form of Al-10Sr
master alloy. Grain refinement of the Al-15Si was done
by the addition of 0.04%wt P in the form of red
phosphorous. The melt was stirred for 30 seconds after
the addition of modifier and/or grain refiner. The melt
was poured into a cylindrical graphite mould of 25mm
internal diameter and 150mm in height. The
microstructures of the test samples are cut in the
longitudinal direction and were studied. A pin on disc
type wear and friction monitor (TR-20LE, DUCOM ,
Bangalore) with data acquisition system was used to
evaluate the wear behavior of aluminum alloys. Figure 1
shows the photograph of the test specimen on the
tribometer disc.
N
IM E
SPE
C During the test, when the applied load on the pin is
C
D IS
Fig.1. Test specimen on the tribometer disc
The pins of 8 mm diameter and 25 mm length were
fabricated from castings against hardened ground
steel(En-31) disc having hardness of RC62 and surface
roughness (Ra) 0.1µm. The wear tests were carried
under varying loads (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100N) and for a
constant sliding distance of 1000m with 1 m/s sliding
speed. Track diameter of 100 mm was selected for the
analysis. During sliding change in the height of the
specimen was recorded using linear variable differential
transformer (accuracy ±1 µm with maximum
displacement of ±2 mm). The friction force was
recorded during the experiment by using a load cell . It
has a maximum load capacity of 200N and measures
the frictional load at an accuracy of ±0.1 N in the load
range of 0-200N. Frictional force (N) was measured as
a function of time. The pins were weighed before and
after each test to measure the change in weight for wear
loss calculations. A minimum of 3 samples were tested
for each condition. If the difference between any two
samples was greater than 10%, a fourth specimen was
tested. Before the test, the polished pins were cleaned
and degreased using ultrasonic cleaner, first with water
and soap, followed with ethanol and finally with
294
acetone. Cleaned samples were dried in an oven for
30min at 800C. The chemical analysis of master alloys is
shown in table2.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figure 2 (a) shows the microstructure of unmodified Al-
15Si alloy. The microstructure contains plate/needle type
Silicon particles. Unmodified acicular silicon acts as
internal stress risers in the microstructure and provides
easy path for fracture. Figure2(b) shows the
microstructure of Al-15Si alloy after modification. The
addition of modifier(Sr) to Al-15Si cast alloy changes the
plate-like eutectic silicon to fine particles in the
interdendritic region, while α-Al grains remain dendritic.
Figure2(c) shows the microstructure of Al-15Si cast alloy
after the addition of refiner Phosphorus. The addition of
refiner Phosphorus to Al-15Si alloy significantly refines
the coarse platlet, star-like and irregular primary silicon to
fine and uniformly distributed Si particles possibly
due to aluminum phosphide (Al P) acting as nucleating
agent for Silicon. Fig.2(d) shows the combined addition
of both refiner and modifier to the Al-15 Si unmodified
alloy. After the addition of refiner and modifier, the
microstructure shows fine fibrous eutectic Si particles.
increased, the actual contact area would increase towards
the nominal area which increases the frictional force
between two sliding surfaces. The increased frictional
force gives high wear. Figures 3 (a)-(d) show the
influence of modification and/or refinement on the dry
sliding wear behavior of the cast alloys under different
loads from 20N to 100N in steps of 20 N with constant
sliding speed of 1 m/s for a sliding distance of 1000m.
The wear volume (mm3) of the alloys under different
conditions is shown in Figure 3(a). It is observed that the
wear volume is more at higher loads for untreated alloy.
The wear test of the Al-15Si unmodified cast alloy was
carried out at the highest load of 100 N. It was observed
that seizure does not takes place upto this load. Seizure is
a phenomenon of the test specimen becoming welded to
the wear disc at high loads and higher sliding speeds of
the disc due to wear. At seizure there will be more noise
and vibrations. Tests were stopped at this load. The wear
volume is less for the combined addition of refiner and
modifier. Figure 3(b) shows the wear rate of the Al-15Si
alloys under different conditions at various loads on the
pin. The results show that the wear rate is more for the
untreated cast alloy and is less for the combined addition
of refiner and modifier. It is very clear from figure 3(c)
that the wear resistance is poor for the untreated alloy. It
also tells that wear resistance is good for the alloy
subjected to refinement and modification. The cast alloys
, which were only refined or modified have shown the
intermediate results. It is noticed from figure 3(d) that, the
coefficient of friction (µ) is more for the untreated Al-
15Si cast alloy. Temperature measurement of wear pin
during the sliding wear was carried out using chromel-
alumel thermocouple. Temperature of the pin was
recorded with the help of digital temperature indicator
of the tribometer. Temperature is very important
parameter for explaining the wear and friction behavior.
P.V.Chandra Sekhar Rao, A.Satya Devi, K.G. Basava Kumar: Influence of Melt Treatments on Dry Sliding Wear Behavior
of Hypereutectic Al-15Si Cast Alloys; Machine Design, Vol.3(2011) No.4, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 293-296

HR-1
25
HR-1
20 HR-2

Wear volume (mm3)

HR-3
HR-3M
15

10

400X 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
(a)
Load (N)
HR-2 (a)
2.5

Volumetric wear rate

(mm3/(N-m) X 10-4)
2

1.5

1 HR-1
HR-2
HR-3
0.5
HR-3M
400X 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
(b)
HR-3 Load (N)
(b)
12000
Wear resistance (N-m/mm3)

10000

8000

6000

HR-1
4000
HR-2
400X
HR-3
2000
(c) HR-3M

0
HR-3M
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Load (N)
(c)
0.6
Coefficient of friction (µ)

0.5

0.4

0.3 HR -1

400X HR -2
0.2
HR -3
(d) 0.1 HR -3M

Fig. 2. Optical microphotographs of Al-15Si alloy: 0

(a) un modified, (b)with modifier (0.04% wt Sr)
0 50 100 150
with refiner (0.04 %wt P), (d) with refiner(0.04%wt P) and
modifier (0.04% wt Sr) Load (N)
(d)
Table 2. Chemical analysis of master alloys.
Fig.3. Influence of modification and/or refinement on the
Composition( % wt)
Alloy dry sliding behavior for sliding speed 1m/s and sliding
Si Fe Sr Al distance 1000 m.
Al 0.08 Balance
Al-20Si 20.2 Balance Figure 4 indicates that the temperature of the pin is
Al-10Sr 0.12 0.19 10 Balance more for the untreated alloy during sliding. Brinell

295
 P.V.Chandra Sekhar Rao, A.Satya Devi, K.G. Basava Kumar: Influence of Melt Treatments on Dry Sliding Wear Behavior
of Hypereutectic Al-15Si Cast Alloys; Machine Design, Vol.3(2011) No.4, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 293-296

hardness tests were performed on all the specimens and  The modification and/or refinement increases the wear
the values are shown in Figure 5. It was observed that, the resistance during dry sliding of cast Al-15Si alloy.
hardness is less for the untreated cast alloy and is more
 Temperature and co-efficient of friction rises with
for the combined addition of refiner and modifier.
increasing the load.
 It was observed that no seizure takes place upto the
Sliding Speed=1m/s Sliding Distance=1000m
load 100N for unmodified Al-15Si cast alloy.
120
 It was observed that the change in the volumetric wear
100 rate for the combined refined and modified cast alloy
is less for the loads 80N and 100N.
Temperature( C)
o

80 HR-1
HR-2
60 HR-3
HR-3M
40

20
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