Мechanochemically synthesized nickel-containing aluminosilicate modifiers for tribotechnical aluminum alloys

Silumins are promising antifriction alloys for the manufacture of friction units. They have a low density, high wear and corrosion resistance. However, they own low hardness and strength, which leads to the need to develop modifying and strengthening additives. Aluminosilicates have a density close to silumin and can be used for its strengthening, but they are characterized by low wettability by metals. To improve wettability, it is necessary to modify the aluminosilicates with metals. The aim of this work is to study the mechanochemical synthesis of aluminosilicate/Nickel composites and modification of silumin using them. Structural changes in powder mixtures of natural aluminosilicates with Nickel during high-energy mechanical processing in a planetary ball mill, as well as in alloys of the composition silumin + potassium fluoroborate and silumin + potassium fluoroborate + aluminosilicate/Nickel obtained by hot pressing of mechanoactivated powders, were studied using Fourier-infrared spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction analysis. It is shown that mechanical activation of a mixture of silumin + potassium fluoroborate powders leads to a redistribution of silicon during sintering with the formation of large primary silicon crystals and a decrease in micro hardness by ~ 20 %. Mechanical activation of aluminosilicates with Nickel leads to the formation of composite powders with the removal of OH groups and the formation of SiO2 framework structures. The use of such a modifier during sintering of the silumin alloy leads to the formation of a homogeneous fine structure of the alloy with the grinding of eutectic and primary silicon grains, which increases the micro hardness of the alloy by 1.5 times.