Fretting Wear and Corrosion Behaviour of an Al–ZrO2/Ni Hybrid Composite Developed by Friction Stir Processing

Abstract

In this paper, the fretting wear and fretting corrosion behaviour of the AA6063 alloys and hybrid AA6063 matrix composite (HAMCs) was studied. The optical microscope and secondary electron microscope were used to characterize the microstructural features of the HAMCs. The composites were subjected to a dry fretting wear test under three different applied loads (5 N, 10 N, and 15 N). In comparison with the base material, the HAMCs demonstrated a significant increase (3.7 times) in specific wear resistance. The dissipation energy was reduced in HAMCs (15.9 × 10−3 J) as compared to the base material (24.2 × 10−3 J). The coefficient of friction and open-circuit potential decreased in the fretting regime in fretting corrosion as compared to dry fretting wear. The HAMCs exhibited higher fretting corrosion resistance as compared to base materials. The predominant wear mechanism of the fretting corrosion was abrasion, cracks, delamination, and corrosion. © 2022, The Indian Institute of Metals - IIM.