Processing and Characterization of Tribological Properties of Al6061-TiB2 Composite by Taguchi Technique

Abstract

Composite materials are the combination of two or more materials, which are different in form and chemical composition and are gradually gaining more importance as a structural material in the present day engineering design and development activities. In the present context, many researchers are striving hard to develop new and novel materials for various engineering applications using different reinforcements in AMC’s.

In this paper, attempts are made to synthesize Al-6061/TiB₂ composites by varying weight percentage of reinforcement by in-situ stir casting process to study the tribological behaviour. Pin-on-Disc (POD) wear test apparatus was used to conduct abrasive wear tests as per the Design of Experiments (DOE) to evaluate wear loss and coefficient of friction. Further, Taguchi Technique, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Regression analyses were utilized to optimize the wear loss and COF. Further, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of worn out surface are used to study the wear behaviour of the composites developed. Wear loss and COF decreases with increase in the wt. % of reinforcement. It is concluded form the ANOVA and regression analyses that reinforcement plays a crucial role in the development of Al 6061-TiB₂composite system.