Abstract
During the sliding of aluminium alloys dispersed with graphite particulates, a layer of graphite is usually present at the sliding interface. This tribo-layer significantly reduces the amount of direct metal-to-metal contact, giving rise to low friction and a low rate of wear, making these composites useful candidate materials for anti-friction applications. Such self-lubricating composites are commonly fabricated via the squeeze casting, slurry casting or powder metallurgy route. These processes are expensive while the less-expensive conventional casting route is limited by the agglomeration of graphite particles in the composites, giving rise to poor mechanical properties. In this work, graphite particulate-reinforced Al–4.5 wt.% Cu composites with two effective graphite contents (Al–4.5 Cu/4.2 wt.% C and Al–4.5 Cu/6.8 wt.% C) were synthesized through an innovative partial liquid phase casting (rheocasting) technique, which is a modification of the conventional casting process. Unlubricated (without the use of conventional liquid lubrication) friction and wear performance of these composites as well as the un-reinforced aluminium alloy was determined using a pin-on-disk tester. The results revealed that the graphite-reinforced composites have a higher wear rate than the un-reinforced matrix alloy while their frictional characteristics are very similar within the range of testing conditions. Combining these with the information gathered from worn-surface examinations and wear-debris analysis, it is suggested that there exists a certain threshold for the amount and size of graphite particulates in these composites to enable them to have improved tribological properties.