Publication

Abstract : The current work investigates the morphological, mechanical, and wear behavior of Cu–6Sn–10SiC metal matrix composites processed through green, conventional, and microwave sintering. The change in hardness and wear characteristics were correlated to the developed composites' morphological behavior. Wear tests were conducted on the composites against EN31 steel disk for a 1000 m sliding distance under dry sliding conditions. The wear rate was evaluated for the composite samples with a 10 N normal load with a corresponding sliding velocity of 1 m/s. It was noted from the study that the value of hardness was increased by 14%, and the wear rate reduced by 66% when compared with the green sample. However, the coefficient of friction value of the microwave processed sample was reduced by 32% from the green sample. The morphological, elemental composition, worn-out surface behavior, and wear mechanism of the developed composite samples in all conditions were studied and analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Moreover, the wear mechanism for all the samples developed in this present investigation was found to be abrasive in nature. © 2022, The Indian Institute of Metals - IIM.