Aluminium Silicate Concentration and Coordination effect with Tungsten sulphide improving Dry Sliding Wear Characteristics of AA7075 alloy Composites.

In this study, highly stable aluminium silicate (Al₂SiO₅) particles were spatially dispersed with tungsten disulphide (WS₂) particles, making aluminium alloy (AA7075) composites suitable for tribological applications. The composite fabrication was done through the squeeze casting technique by dispersing aluminium silicate (Al₂SiO₅) particles with 5–15% weight percentages and WS₂ particles with weight percentages of 5% in the aluminium alloy. Optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were employed to study the distribution of particles and phase analysis. Hardness and tensile strength tests were conducted to assess the mechanical strength of composites. Dry sliding wear behaviour of aluminium alloy and composites was studied using a pin-on-disc tribometer. Wear performance was evaluated over a load range of (20, 40, 60, and 80 N) at a sliding velocity of 2.0 m/s with a sliding distance of 3000 m. SEM, XRD, and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) were used to investigate the particles' effects on the wear mechanism. The 3D surface topography was used to characterise the worn surface map, and wear depth has been analysed. The experimental results revealed that both particle dispersed conditions show a synergetic effect on reducing wear rate and friction coefficient better than alloy and monodispersed particle composite. The higher wear resistance on the AA7075/10 wt.% Al₂SiO₅/5 wt.% WS₂ coordinate was shown by the combined effect of reinforcement particles through the formation of a stable and compacted tribo lubricating layer consisting of mixed SiO₂ and WO₃, which retains wear resistance properties of the composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]