Wear and Hardness Characterisation of Hot Forged Tungsten Carbide reinforced Aluminium 6061 Composite Materials

Abstract

The current study intends to examine how forging under hot conditions affects wear characteristics of tungsten carbide (WC) particles reinforced aluminum alloy 6061 composites. The reduction ratios of 20%, 40%, and 60% were employed during forging, and the percentages of reinforcement used were 0, 2, 4, and 6 (weight fractions). The investigation clearly showed that the forged composites had a substantially lower wear rate than the unforged composites. It was discovered that the wear behavior of the composite improved due to the higher content of WC particles present in the matrix. Enhanced wear rate was observed as the weight and sliding distance increased.

Keywords

• wear
• hardness
• hot forging
• aluminium alloy
• composites
• tungsten carbide