CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 OUTLINE OF THE PROJECT WORK

World is turning to more “High Tech” (technology) societies in the wake of

emerging disciplines of modern science and technology.
High tech means:
 Faster and faster transport.
 Higher rise buildings.
 More and more robots replacing manual labour.
 More and more complex information storage and transmission.
 Usage of bigger and bigger machines in farms including usage of more and
more artificial fertilizers and sprays.
 More and more throw away consumer goods and built in obsolescence.

As such world is seeing a new era. The conventional engineering approaches are
no longer valid in the wake of emerging areas or disciplines. The machine
design has seen three stages:
 Kinematic analysis in the early stages was the primary concern.
 Strength analysis of machine parts was the second stage due to high power
engines and optimal size.
 In the third stage, emergence of tribology, which deals with contact
interaction of solids in relative motion and concerning problems of friction,
wear and lubrication.
 The present stage is probabilistic design, i.e. nobody selects some material
pair and tries to calculate its stability for its kinematics, strength and wear-out
but it is the opposite. For a specified requirement of operation and life in a
given environment, what would be the best material pair? In some advanced

1
 countries nobody teaches gear design or a bearing design or a structural design-
they are all taken for granted.
 They are chosen handbooks for a given application, under the probability that
it survives and it does function satisfactorily for the period it is intended to
function. This approach makes our young engineers and technicians more
practical and the gap between the experienced and the fresh from training
becomes narrower.

Thus “Tribology” and “maintenance’ play an important role in upkeep of

machinery for reliable and safe operation, thereby increase the productivity.
Tribology is the very “heart of engineering’. There is no mechanism, no machine
that is not affected by tribological factors.
The concept of tribology is relatively a recent one and was probably initiated in the
year1966 at the institution of the Jost Committee in England. The term “tribology”
has been derived from the Greek work “tribein”. The word coming from the same
Greek roots “tribulation”. Tribology has been defines as the science and practice of
interacting surfaces in relative motion. Tribological research is centered on friction,
wear and lubrication. Friction is usually classified as a branch of Physics or of
Mechanical engineering. Wear is often considered to be a part of Metallurgy or
Mechanical engineering. Lubricants, which affect friction and wear, may come
under the heading of chemistry. However, the surface interaction phenomenon is so
closely related that it is difficult to isolate one from another. This makes the study
of tribology a multi-disciplinary concept.

Tribology is truly an interdisciplinary science and is very useful for its

practitioners, even though they may be trained in only one of the related classical
disciplines. It involves, principally, Mechanical Engineering, production
Engineering Fluid Dynamics, Chemistry and chemical Engineering, material
science and other related topics. It can be considered as heart of engineering.
There is no mechanism, no machine and no equipment that is not affected by

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tribological factors. It is estimated that about 70% of failures in mechanical
components are due to tribological causes and, as a rough estimate, one third of
world’s energy resources appear as friction in one form or the other and most of
these result in waste. This shows the importance of tribological study and
tribological treatments in industries result in considerable savings. Keeping the
above in mind, this work deals with the wear behavior study in certain materials, in
the industrial scenario. The importance is given in studying the adhesive wear
behavior in mating similar materials. The materials used are al-sic pin and ss326ln
disc.

1.2 WEAR
In materials science, wear is erosion or sideways displacement of material
from its "derivative" and original position on a solid surface performed by the
action of another surface. The mechanism of wear is very complex and the
theoretical treatment without the use of rather sweeping simplifications is not
possible. It should be understood that the real area of contact between two solid
surfaces compared with the apparent area of contact is invariably very small, being
limited to points of contact between surface asperities. The load applied to the
surfaces will be transferred through these points of contact and the localized forces
can be very large. The material intrinsic surface properties such as hardness,
strength, ductility, work hardening etc. are very important factors for wear
resistance, but other factors like surface finish, lubrication, load, speed, corrosion,
temperature and properties of the opposing surface etc. are equally important.
Wear is related to interactions between surfaces and more specifically the
removal and deformation of material on a surface as a result of mechanical action of
the opposite surface. The need for relative motion between two surfaces and initial
mechanical contact between asperities is an important distinction between
mechanical wear compared to other processes with similar outcomes.
The definition of wear may include loss of dimension from plastic
deformation if it´s originated at the interface between two sliding surfaces.
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However, plastic deformation such as yield stress is excluded from the wear
definition if it doesn't incorporates a relative sliding motion and contact against
another surface despite the possibility for material removal, because it then lacks the
relative sliding action of another surface. Impact wear is in reality a short sliding
motion where two solid bodies interact at an exceptional short time interval.
Previously due to the fast execution, the contact found in impact wear was referred
to as an impulse contact by the nomenclature. Impulse can be described as an
mathematical model of an synthesized average on the energy transport between two
travelling solids in opposite converging contact. Cavitation wear is a form of wear
where the erosive medium or counter-body is a fluid. Corrosion may be included in
wear phenomenon but the damage is amplified and performed by chemical reactions
rather than mechanical action.
Wear can also be defined as a process where interaction between two surfaces
or bounding faces of solids within the working environment results in dimensional
loss of one solid, with or without any actual decoupling and loss of material.
Aspects of the working environment which affect wear include loads and features
such as unidirectional sliding, reciprocating, rolling, and impact loads, speed,
temperature, but also different types of counter-bodies such as solid, liquid or gas
and type of contact ranging between single phase or multiphase, in which the last
multiphase may combine liquid whit solid particles and gas bubbles.

1.2.1 Types of wear

The study of the processes of wear is part of the discipline of tribology. The
complex nature of wear has delayed its investigations and resulted in isolated
studies towards specific wear mechanisms or processes. The various types of wear
can be categorized and defined as follows:
Impact wear is the striking or slamming contact of one object against another.
A battering, pounding type of wear that breaks, splits, and deforms metal surfaces.
Abrasion is the wearing of surfaces by rubbing, grinding, or other types of friction.

4
It usually occurs due to metal-to metal contact. It is a scraping, grinding wear that
rubs away metal surfaces and can be caused by the scouring action of sand, gravel,
slag, earth, and other gritty material.
Erosion is the wearing away or destruction of metals and other materials by the
abrasive action of water, steam, slurries which carry abrasive materials. Pump parts
are subject to this type of wear.
Compression is a deformation type of wear caused by heavy static loads or by
slowly increasing pressure on metal surfaces. Compression wears causes metal to
move and lose dimensional accuracy.
Cavitations wear results from turbulent flow of liquids that carry small suspended
abrasive particles.
Metal-to-metal wear is a seizing and/or galling type of wear that rips and tears out
portions of metal surfaces. It is often caused by metal parts seizing together because
of lack of lubrication. It usually occurs when the metals moving together are of the
same hardness. Frictional heat promotes this type of wear.
Corrosion wear is the gradual deterioration of unprotected metal surfaces, caused by
the effects of the atmosphere, acids, gases, alkalies, etc. This type of wear creates
pits and perforations and may eventually dissolve metal parts.
Oxidation is a type of wear causing flaking or crumbling layers of metal surfaces
when unprotected metal is exposed to a combination of heat, air and moisture. Rust
is an example of oxidation.
The above types of wear can occur in combination with one another and because of
this, we must consider all of the factors to determine the type of coating material to
apply. This is done by studying the worn part, its service requirement, it’s
interaction with other parts and equipment and its environment.

1.3 ABRASIVE WEAR

Abrasive wear occurs when a hard rough surface slides across a softer
surface. ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) defines it as the loss
5
of material due to hard particles or hard protuberances that are forced against and
move along a solid surface.
Abrasive wear is commonly classified according to the type of contact and
the contact environment. The type of contact determines the mode of abrasive wear.
The two modes of abrasive wear are known as two-body and three-body abrasive
wear. Two-body wear occurs when the grits, or hard particles, are rigidly mounted
or adhere to a surface, when they remove the material from the surface. The
common analogy is that of material being removed with sand paper. Three-body
wear occurs when the particles are not constrained, and are free to roll and slide
down a surface. The contact environment determines whether the wear is classified
as open or closed. An open contact environment occurs when the surfaces are
sufficiently displaced to be independent of one another

Figure1.1 Abrasive wear

Abrasive Wear Effects:

 Dimensional changes
 Leakage
 Lower efficiency
 Generated particles contribute more wear

Abrasive wear is a primary wear mechanism. Particles enter the clearance space

6
Abrasive wear is a primary wear mechanism. Particles enter the clearance space
between two moving surfaces, and act like cutting tools to remove material from
the surfaces. The particle sizes causing the most damage are those equal to and
slightly larger than the clearance space. To protect opposing surfaces from
abrasive wear, particles of approximately the operating clearance size range must
be removed.

The dry sliding wear behavior of cast aluminium 7% silicon alloys (A356)
reinforced with SiC particles was investigated by means of a block-on-ring (52100
bearing steel) type wear rig. Wear rates of the composites with 10–20 vol% SiC
were measured over a load range of 1–150 N at sliding velocities of 0.16 and 0.8 m
s−1. Detailed electron metallography and X-ray diffraction analyses were undertaken
to clarify the effect of SiC particles on the wear mechanisms. Observations
indicated the following. (1) At low loads, corresponding to stresses lower than the
particle fracture strength, SiC particles acted as load-bearing elements and their
abrasive action on the steel counterface caused transfer of iron-rich layers onto the
contact surfaces. In this regime, SiC reinforced composites exhibited wear rates
about an order of magnitude lower than those of the unreinforced alloys in which
wear occurred by subsurface crack nucleation, around the silicon particles, and
growth. (2) Above a critical load determined by the size and volume fraction of SiC
particles, carbide particles at the contact surfaces were fractured. A subsurface
delamination process by the decohesion of SiC-matrix interfaces tended to control
the wear, resulting in wear rates similar to those in the unreinforced matrix alloy.
(3) An abrupt increase in the wear rates (by a factor of 10 2) occurred in the
unreinforced aluminium-silicon alloy at 95 N. SiC reinforcement was proved to be
effective in suppressing the transition to severe wear rate regime.

There are a number of factors which influence abrasive wear and hence the
manner of material removal. Several different mechanisms have been proposed to

7
describe the manner in which the material is removed. Three commonly identified
mechanisms of abrasive wear are:

1. Plowing
2. Cutting
3. Fragmentation

Plowing occurs when material is displaced to the side, away from the wear particles,
resulting in the formation of grooves that do not involve direct material removal.
The displaced material forms ridges adjacent to grooves, which may be removed by
subsequent passage of abrasive particles. Cutting occurs when material is separated
from the surface in the form of primary debris, or microchips, with little or no
material displaced to the sides of the grooves. This mechanism closely resembles
conventional machining. Fragmentation occurs when material is separated from a
surface by a cutting process and the indenting abrasive causes localized fracture of
the wear material. These cracks then freely propagate locally around the wear
groove, resulting in additional material removal by spalling. Abrasive wear can be
measured as loss of mass by the Taber Abrasion Test according to ISO 9352 or
ASTM D 1044.

ABRASIVE WEAR
Figure1.2 Abrasive wear mechanism

 
 

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 The abrasive wear mechanism is basically the same as machining, grinding,
polishing or lapping that we use for shaping materials. Two body abrasive wear
occurs when one surface (usually harder than the second) cuts material away from
the second, although this mechanism very often changes to three body abrasion as
the wear debris then acts as an abrasive between the two surfaces. Abrasives can act
as in grinding where the abrasive is fixed relative to one surface or as in lapping
where the abrasive tumbles producing a series of indentations as opposed to a
scratch.

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE SURVEY

The aluminium metal matrix with the coconut ash samples reported that
increase in wear resistance and adding coconut shell ash reduces the toughness
of the composite [1]. Studies found that the performance of an alloy with the
improvement of strength and stiffness property is due to the addition of
reinforcement [2]. Experimentation on copper with fly ash composite shows that
the impact of compaction pressure, sintering temperature on wear behaviour
increases the density, hardness and wears resistance [3]. The observation on
copper composite with the fly ash resulted that decrease in yield strength and
increased wear resistance with the addition fly ash [4]. Material surface
hardness increased due to the formation of solid –state bonding by diffusion
with the increase of sintering temperature [5]. Higher densification gives rise to
material hardness whereas higher compaction pressure decreases the porosity of
the composite and provides higher densification [6, 7].
The material made of aluminium and coconut shell ash provides higher
friction coefficient. On adding the coconut shell ash to the aluminium alloy can
able to withstand higher forces and this material lasts longer [8]. Study on
aluminium alloy reinforced with coconut shell ash shows that the coconut ash
decreases the composite density and increase the porosity and hardness of the
aluminium composite material [9]. Researchers found that carbon shell ash has
the highest activated carbon which has its applications in reinforcement, filler,
coarse aggregate and energy source due to its durability and high adsorption
capability [10]. Datau et al explore the potentials of coconut shell ash and
kyanite particles used for the preparation of aluminium metal composite. It
results that the presence of crystalline phases in coconut shell ash and kyanite
particles provides good strength and wear characteristics [11].

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 Experimentation of copper fly ash composite results that increase in
reinforcement addition increases the wear rate for all sliding velocities. The
change in wear behaviour observed was plastic deformation. At higher loads,
delamination occurs and at lower loads grooves occurred due to ploughing [12-
14].Research on reinforcement for the copper matrix composite to improve the
strength and wear resistance with compact cost and weight. It is found that the
addition of hard reinforcement with the copper matrix such as oxides of
aluminium and silicon, carbides of silicon and titanium shows better wear
resistance [15-19]. Sarki et al investigated the coconut shell particulates to be
used as fillers in the eco-composite material. The investigation results that
coconut shell has higher tensile strength, hardness and modulus of
elasticity[20].
In this project, the experimentation is on analysing the mechanical and wear
properties of copper composites made with 5wt. % and 10 wt. % reinforcements
of coconut shell ash. The sintered density, porosity, hardness and wear rate of
the composites are studied.
In this project, the experimentation is on analysing the mechanical and wear
properties of copper composites made with 5wt. % and 10 wt. % reinforcements
of coconut shell ash. The sintered density, porosity, hardness and wear rate of
the composites are studied.

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 CHAPTER 3

TRIBOTESTING

3.1 INTRODUCTION

3.1.1 MEANING OF TRIBOTESTING

Tribotesting is one specific aspect of tribometry. The term tribometry

includes all experimental techniques in tribology such as metrology,
tribotesting, simulative testing and machinery condition monitoring.
Tribotesting is primarily concerned with friction and wear evaluation of
materials and tribological performance studies of lubricants.
In the past few decades there has been an increasing emphasis on
tribological research and application of tribological practices to various
industrial problems. In spite of significant enhancement in our understanding
of the complex tribological processes, we do not have model, which can help
predict the tribological behavior of materials and lubricants.
The main objectives of tribotesting are
 To obtain fundamental understanding about the tribological processes
 To characterize friction and wear behavior of materials under different
conditions.
 To evaluate the tribological performance of lubricants.
 To simulate service
The tribological evaluation of materials and lubricants can best be studied
under actual service condition but this has many limitations. Actual tests or
full scale tests are very expensive and hazardous particularly when these have
to be continued till failure occurs. In many instances information may often
be required in advance and sometimes measurements may not be possible in

12
operating environment. Also in actual tests the control of variables, which is
highly desirable in fundamental studies, may be almost impossible.
In view of these reasons tribological tests have to be conducted on
specially designed machines, which apparently may not have any
resemblance with the actual machines for evaluation of materials and
lubricants. It is pertinent to mention here that tribological characteristics are
not their intrinsic properties but are influenced by various factors related to
the tribological system as shown in fig 2.0. Unlike others mechanical
properties friction and wear characteristics of materials are highly system
dependent and there is no simple measurement available which can qualify a
material suitable for a given tribological application. For this reason
triboitesting is still considered an art rather than science. For meaningful
tribological evaluation one has to select the most appropriate tribometer and
carefully choose the experimental parameters keeping in mind the intended
use of the material and lubricant.

3.1.2 VARIABLES IN TRIBOTESTING

As mentioned earlier the tribological process is influenced by

very large number of variables. The most significant variables are:
 Applied load (direction, amplitude)
 Type of motion (rolling/sliding, unidirectional/reciprocating)
 Sliding velocity.
 Contact configuration.
 Contact area.
 Sliding duration.
 Surface roughness related parameters.
 Operating environment.

13
 The selection of test parameters in tribotesting should be done keeping in
view the intended application of materials and / or lubricant. There are
several publications, which prove useful guidelines for selecting experimental
parameters. A few comments concerning selection of test variables in
tribotesting are briefly discussed here.
Operating load (more significantly the contact pressure) and sliding speed
are the most important parameters, as these to a large extent shall determine
the operating temperature in dry sliding situation. In lubricated sliding the
operating lubrication regime shall be governed by load and speed, and hence
should be chosen carefully.
The type of motion (whether rolling or sliding) and the contact
configuration (point, line or area) shall determine the mode of tribological
failure. The contact configuration shall also govern the interaction of wear
debris are very hard and are likely to have more influences on wear process
than in metallic materials. Likewise the influence of vibration of both due to
internal and external sources may have considerable influence on wear of
ceramic-based materials in un-lubricated sliding conditions. In metallic
materials sliding normally takes place under lubricated conditions where
damping capacity of the lubricant film tend to prevent transmission of
vibration across the sliding contacts.
Another important factor that will influence friction and wear under
lubricated sliding conditions is mode of lubrication. The mode of lubrication
could be hydrodynamic, mixed or boundary lubrication depending upon the
load, sliding velocity and viscosity of the lubricant. The role of fluid film
thickness and roughness characteristics of interacting surfaces become
extremely important in controlling friction and wear under lubricated sliding
conditions. The operating temperature and environment also have a
significant influence on friction and wear of materials particularly if the
operation is in reactive environment.

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3.1.3 TRIBOTESTING TECHNIQUES

There is an extensive range of tribological test rigs, which

encompasses machines range from simple laboratory screening machine to
full scale simulation test rigs for material and lubricants. A compilation of
234 different types of friction and wear test devices was published by
American Society of Lubrication Engineers way back in 1976 and since then
more have been reported in literature.
In principle almost all the tribometers can be used for evaluation of
both materials and lubricants. However, some of these materials like pin on
disc high temperature environment controlled machines etc. are most suited
towards material evaluation. On the other hand four ball, Timken, Falex and
IAE or FZG back-to-back gear test rigs are mostly used for lubricant
performance evaluation. There are also machines like SRV Optimal tester,
Cameron-Plint machine, Falex multi-specimen machine and journal bearing
test machine, which have been effectively utilized for evaluating both
materials and lubricants.

3.1.4 WEAR TESTING MACHINE

A tribometer is an instrument that measures tribological quantities,

such as coefficient of friction, friction force, and wear volume, between two
surfaces in contact. A tribotester is the general name given to a machine or
device used to perform tests and simulations of wear, friction and lubrication
which are the subject of the study of tribology. Often tribotesters are
extremely specific in their function and are fabricated by manufacturers who
desire to test and analyze the long-term performance of their products. An

15
example is that of orthopedic implant manufactures who have spent
considerable sums of money to develop tribotesters that accurately reproduce
the motions and forces that occur in human hip joints so that they can
perform accelerated wear tests of their products.

A pin on disc tribometer consists of a stationary "pin" under an applied

load in contact with a rotating disc. The pin can have any shape to simulate a
specific contact, but spherical tips are often used to simplify the contact
geometry. Friction is determined by the ratio of the frictional force to the
loading force on the pin.

The pin on disc test has proved useful in providing a simple wear and
friction test for low friction coatings such as diamond-like carbon coatings on
valve train components in internal combustion engines.

PIN ON DISC

Tribotech Tribometer uses a pin-on-disk system to measure wear. The

unit consists of a gimbaled arm to which the pin is attached, a fixture which
accommodates disks up to 165 mm in diameter & 8 mm thick, an electronic
force sensor for measuring the friction force, and a computer software (on
Lab view platform) for displaying the parameters, printing, or storing data for
analysis. The motor driven turntable produces up to 3000 rpm. Wear is
quantified by measuring the wear groove with a profilometer (to be ordered
separately) and measuring the amount of material removed. Users simply
specify the turntable speed, the load, and any other desired test variables such
as friction limit and number of rotations.

Designed for unattended use, a user need only place the test material into
turntable fixture and specify the test variables. A pre-determined Hertzian
pressure is automatically applied to the pin using a system of weights.
Rotating the turntable while applying this force to the pin includes sliding
16
wear as well as a friction force. Since pins can be fabricated from a wide
range of materials virtually any combination of metal, glass, plastic,
composite, or ceramic substrates can be tested.

APPLICATION

Fundamental wear studies. Wear mapping and PV diagrams. Friction

and wear testing of metals, ceramics, soft and hard coatings, plastics,
polymers and composites, lubricants, cutting fluids, heat processed samples.

3.4.1.1 PHOTOGRAPHS OF WEAR TESTING MACHINE

FIG 3.1: WEAR TESTING MACHINE

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FIG 3.2: APPLICATION OF LOAD ON DISC

FIG 3.3: AC MOTOR

FIG 3.4: PIN ON DISC

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 CHAPTER 4

EXPERIMENTATION

4.1 IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION FOR EXPERIMENT

Wear is generally affected by several factors, among them materials

selection, friction, surface load, sliding distance, surface hardness, surface finish,
and lubrication. Controlling these factors can contribute to a successful application
helping to prevent wear and premature product failure

4.2 FACTORS INFLUENCEING WEAR

Wear varies greatly depending on the materials selected. For critical

application, it is crucial that the person responsible for materials and process
selection is sufficiently experienced and has adequate information available to make
a sound engineering decision. Carelessness in this area can result in poor instrument
performance and even field failures. The time and money spent in proper materials
and process selection can be vastly less expensive than field failures and product
recalls.

4.2.1 FRICITION

Researchers have not observed a consistent relationship between

friction and wear. Materials with low coefficients of friction may have high
wear rates (Teflon, PTFE) and some high-friction materials, such as cast iron,
have low rates of wear, again, one must remember that friction and wear are
different.

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 4.2.2 SURFACE LOAD

Increasing the surface load between sliding surfaces has been found to
cause a proportional increase in material wear rates.

4.2.3 SLIDING DISTANCE

Increasing the sliding distance of an assembly will cause a roughly

proportional increase in material loss.

4.2.4 SURFACE HARDNESS

Wear resistance generally increases proportionally with increasing

surface hardness (which may be very different from bulk hardness). Surface
deformation during wear causes a localized increase in surface hardness on work-
hardened metals. This explains why high-strain-hardening, austenitic stainless steels
are more wear resistant than harder precipitation-hardened stainless steels.

4.2.5 SURFACE FINISH

Surface finishes between 10 and 70μin. A have been found to offer

similar wear resistance for many stainless steels. Very smooth surfaces
promote cold welding (galling) because of high molecular interaction. High
finishes also lack adequate clearance to store wear debris. Overly rough
finishes increase wear by allowing surface asperities (irregularities) to
become interlocked, resulting in what is known as A “STICK-SLIP”
phenomenon as these surface irregularities are subsequently worn off when
sliding occurs.

4.2.6 LUBRICATION

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 Lubrication can be used to prevent or reduce metal-to-metal contact
and cold welding. Contact stresses may also be effectively reduced with
lubricants. The type of lubrication and delivery system art important
consideration for reducing wear and galling, Many surface modifications and
coatings are designed to performs as a “DRY” lubricant. These can be used
when wet lubrication is not practical.

4.3 PREPARATION OF SPECIMEN

4.3.1 ISO-STATIC POWDER COMPACTING

Iso-static powder compacting is a mass-conserving shaping

process. Fine metal particles are placed into a flexible mold and then
high gas or fluid pressure is applied to the mold. The resulting article is
then sintered in a furnace. This increases the strength of the part by
bonding the metal particles. This manufacturing process produces very
little scrap metal and can be used to make many different shapes. The
tolerances that this process can achieve are very precise, ranging from
+/- 0.008 inches for axial dimensions and +/- 0.020 inches for radial
dimensions. This is the most efficient type of powder compacting. (The
following subcategories are also from this reference.) This operation is
generally applicable on small production quantities, as it is more costly
to run due to its slow operating speed and the need for expendable
tooling.

Compacting pressures range from 15,000 psi (100,000 kPa) to

40,000 psi (280,000 kPa) for most metals and approximately 2,000 psi
(14,000 kPa) to 10,000 psi (69,000 kPa) for non-metals. The density of
isostatic compacted parts is 5% to 10% higher than with other powder
metallurgy processes.

4.3.2 EQUIPMENT
21
 There are many types of equipment used in Powder Compacting.
There is the mold, which is flexible, a pressure mold that the mold is
in, and the machine delivering the pressure. There are also controlling
devices to control the amount of pressure and how long the pressure is
held for. The machines need to apply anywhere from 15,000 psi to
40,000 psi for metals.

4.3.3 HOT ISO-STATIC PRESSING

Hot iso-static pressing (HIP) compresses and sinters the part

simultaneously by applying heat ranging from 900°F (480°C) to
2250°F (1230°C). Argon gas is the most common gas used in HIP
because it is an inert gas, thus prevents chemical reactions during the
operation.

4.3.4 COLD ISOSTATIC PRESSING

Cold isostatic pressing (CIP) uses fluid as a means of applying

pressure to the mold at room temperature. After removal the part still
needs to be sintered.

4.3.5 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Advantages over standard powder compaction are the possibility

of thinner walls and larger work pieces. Height to diameter ratio has no
limitation. No specific limitations exist in wall thickness variations,
undercuts, reliefs, threads, and cross holes. No lubricants are need for
isostatic powder compaction. The minimum wall thickness is
0.05 inches and the product can have a weight between 40 and 300
pounds. There is 25 to 45% shrinkage of the powder after compacting.

4.4 PREPARING THE SPECIMEN

22
 The die in which the specimen is to be compacted is initially lubricated, so easy
and smooth ejection is possible. Here graphite powder was used for lubrication
purpose. The graphite powder was applied to the different parts of the die like the
contact surfaces, fasteners, plunger etc.
The Al-SiC Metal Matrix Composites can be formed in different compositions.
Here we are using the composition as
 Al – 94%
 SiC – 5%
 Graphite – 1%

The powder is mixed thoroughly using a mixer. The powder should be mixed
well so the MMC will be in perfect shape. The mixed powder in now carefully
filled into the die. After each small quantity a compaction should be given using
hand.
After filling the die with the powder to the top the plunger is fixed and the
whole setup is fixed on the UTM. The pressure is applied. The pressure can be
varied according to the strength of the die. Here we applied two varied pressures
290Mpa and 390Mpa. The pressure should be applied uniformly and slowly so that
the specimen will not be damaged. After the required pressure is attained the UTM
is stopped and now the ejection procedure is to be started.
For ejecting the specimen a special setup has to be made. The die is removed
from the base and kept at a height so the easy and smooth ejection can be attained.
Now as before pressure is applied on to the specimen again. As there is no base the
specimen will start to eject through the bottom. Finally we will get the required
specimen.
After the ejection the die has to be opened and cleaned thoroughly so as to
remove the preforms on the walls of the die.
The ejected specimen has to be sintered. The sintering is done in a furnace at
a controlled temperature. The sintering temperature can also be varied. Here we
fixed the sintering temperature as 600°. The specimen should be kept at this
23
temperature for at least 3hrs. After 3hrs the furnace is switched off and the
specimen is allowed to furnace cooling. After the furnace cooling we get our
required specimen for wear testing.
4.4.1 SPECIFICATION OF THE SPECIMEN

Material selected: Al-SiC MMC

Pin specification:
Diameter: 8mm
Height: 15mm
Disc specification:
Diameter: 300mm
Thickness: 15mm

4.5 ABRASIVE WEAR TEST

After the specimen is prepared and sintered the specimen is subjected to wear
testing. The wear testing is done on a tribometer or pin on disc experimental setup.
The pin on disc apparatus is shown in the figure.
The initial height of the specimen and the initial weight of the specimen are
measured so as to find the wear rates. Abrasive papers of different grades such as
1/0, 2/0, 3/0, and 4/0 were used for the experimentation. The emery sheets are
pasted on to the disc of the pin on disc apparatus. The specimen is made to hold on
to the pin of the pin on disc apparatus using holder. The pin with specimen and the
disc with abrasive paper are now brought to contact.
Now the motor is switched so that the disc will rotate and wear will occur to the
specimen. The speed of the motor can be varied using variac. Different parameters
are changed to find the wear at different conditions. The parameters that are varied
are applied load on the specimen, grades of emery sheets, speed of the motor, and
the compacting pressure on the specimen.
The experiment is carried out for 60sec for each variable. After the experiment
the final weight and height of the specimen is measured. Using the formulas
24
different parameters like weight loss, specific wear rate, and sliding velocity are
found. The values are tabulated. The tabulated values are converted into graphical
form and are compared.Using the observed values the following graphs are drawn

 Weight loss vs applied load

 Weight loss vs sliding velocity

 Specific wear rate vs abrasive grit size

MATERIANLS AND METHODS

Materials Composition
The copper –coconut shell ash metal matrix composite can be formed
by using 90% of copper as matrix and 3% of lead and 2% of tin and 1% zinc
stearate and the reinforcement of 4% coconut shell ash.
Coconut Shell Ash Preparation
In daily life, coconut has many uses as food, oil, drinks, charcoal, cosmetics
and decorations. The coconut shells are produced in huge quantity as
agricultural solid waste. It was collected from coconut drink vendor, temples
and farms. It was manually broken and made it sun-dried for couple of days.
The dried coconut shells were crushed into tiny particles and then sieved to
fine powder. Coconut shell ash was prepared by heating the powder placed in
electric furnace at 850oC for four hours. The ash powder was sieved to size of
53μm using a 300 mesh screen. The coconut shell ash powder chemical
composition was shown in Table 1.

Table 4.1 Coconut shell ash powder chemical composition

% 15.78 0.32 0.58 45.12 16.3 0.24 0.47 0.54 12.3

Elemen Al2O3 ZnO CaO SiO2 MgO MnO Na2O K2O Fe2O3
t

25
26
Specimen Preparation
Metal matric composites were made with copper and 5wt % of coconut shell ash
as one composite and another by varying the weight % of reinforcement to 10%.
The die in which the specimen was to be compacted was initially lubricated by
using graphite powder for easy and smooth ejection. It was applied to the contact
surfaces, fasteners and plungers of the die. The Copper, lead, zinc stearate, tin
powders and coconut shell ash were mixed well to make the metal matrix
composite at perfect shape. The powder mixed was filled into the die with
compaction after each small quantity of powder used.
The powder filled die was fixed to the plunger top and the entire setup was fixed
on the UTM as shown in Figure 4.1, 4.2. According to the die strength, varied
pressure was applied .In order to protect the specimen from damage, the pressure
should be applied evenly and slowly. When the required pressure was attained,
the UTM was stopped and then specimen to be ejected.

Figure 4.1. Plunger Figure 4.2. Die fixed on base

For specimen ejecting, first the die was removed from base and kept at
certain height. As like previous the pressure was applied to the specimen. Since
there was no base the specimen was ejected through the bottom. Then the
ejected specimen was sintered in a furnace at a controlled temperature of 600oC
for at least three hours. After switching off the furnace, the specimen was
allowed to cooling to make ready for wear testing.

27
4.5.1 FORMULAS USED
• Specific wear rate = wear volume m2/N
L*D
Where,
Wear volume = π * D2 * l
4
L = applied load in N
D = diameter of specimen in m
l = height of the specimen in m
• Weight loss = initial weight – final weight

• Sliding velocity = πDN

Where,
D = diameter of the specimen in m
N = rated speed in rpm

4.5.2 MODEL CACULATIONS

• Weight loss = Initial weight - Final weight

Initial weight = 0.0135N

Final weight = 0.0129N
• Weight loss = Initial weight - Final weight

= 0.0135 - 0.0129
Weight loss = 6*10-4 N

• Specific wear rate = wear volume m2/N

L*D

L = 1.422N
D = 0.008m
l = 0.0007m
28
Wear volume =π * D2 * l
4

= π*0.0082*0.0007
4

Wear volume = 3.619*10-8 m3

• Specific wear rate = wear volume m2/N

L*D

= 3.619*10-8
1.422 * .008

Specific wear rate = 3.181*10-6 m2/N

 Sliding velocity = πDN

D = 0.008m
N = 100rpm
Sliding velocity = πDN
= π*.008*100
Sliding velocity = 2.51 m/min

4.5.3 PHOTOGRAPHS OF ABRASIVE GRIT PAPER

FIG4.3: 1/0 FIG4.4: 2/0

29
FIG4.5: 3/0 FIG4.6: 4/0

FIG4.7: COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT ABRASIVE GRIT PAPERS

4.5.4 PHOTOGRAPHS OF DIE

FIG4.8: PLUNGER

30
 FIG4.9: DIE FIXED ON BASE
4.5.5 PHOTOGRAPHS OF PINS

FIG4.10: PINS TESTED

31
Fig4.11: PINS COMPACTED AT 390Mpa

FIG4.12: PINS COMPACTED AT 290Mpa

32
 4.5.6 OBSERVATIONS

COMPOSITE TESTING

Density & Porosity

The copper composite density was determined by the Archimedes

principle by the following equation.
w
Density of the copper composite= × density of distilled water
w−w 1

Where W & W1 is the weight of the composite in air and in distilled

water respectively. Theoretical density value of the copper composite by
the following equation

Density=reinforcement weight ratio ×reinforcement density +(1−unreinforced copper alloy)

The average calculated & measured density values of the test

specimens were specified in the Table 4.2.
Table 4.2. Density Variations of Composites

Test Density (g/cm3)

Specimen Theoretic Practic

al al
Copper Alloy 8.94 8.94
Copper Alloy - 5% Coconut ash 8.80 8.75
Composite
Copper Alloy - 10% Coconut ash 8.53 8.47
Composite

The porosity of the specimen was calculated using the following equation

Measured density
Porosity =1− × 100
Calculated density
33
The copper alloy and its composite’s porosity were tabulated in the Table
4.3.

Table4. 3. Porosity Variations of Composites

Test Porosit
Specimen y
Copper Alloy 0%
Copper Alloy - 5% Coconut ash 0.57%
Composite
Copper Alloy - 10% Coconut ash 0.71%
Composite

Hardness

The hardness of the copper-coconut shell ash composite is measured

by Vickers hardness tester. The material hardness indicates the
deformation of plastic resisting capability of the copper alloy hardness
and reinforcement hardness. Table 4.4 represents the estimated values of
the hardness test for the test specimens.

Table 4.4 Hardness Variations of Composites

34
 Test Hardnes
Specimen s
Copper Alloy 138
Copper Alloy - 5% Coconut ash 151
Composite
Copper Alloy - 10% Coconut ash 172
Composite

Wear Test

The specimen is sintered and subject to wear testing which is on the

pin on disc experiment. The specification of the pin and disc is tabulated
in the Table 4.5. The Pin on disc apparatus is shown in the Figure 2.
Table 5 Specification of Pin & Disc
Specification Pin Disc
Diameter 8mm 300mm
Height / 15mm 15mm
Thickness

35
Effect of load in wear rate tested using varied grit size and speed 4.6
Grit Size : 4/0 Grit Size : 2/0

Specimen Spee 300 400 500 300 400 500

d rpm rpm rpm rpm rpm rpm

Loa We We We We We We

d ar ar ar ar ar ar
rat rat rat rat rat rat
e e e e e e
5 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3
Copper 0 7 9 4 8 4 7
7 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.6
0 1 7 8 6 1 7
9 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.7 1.0
0 5 2 3 4
5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1
Copper -
0 2 3 7 7 2 3
5%
7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1
composi
0 3 5 7 2 3 6
te
9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.2
0 6 7 9 5 7
5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Copper -
0 2 2 4 5 6 8
10%
7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1
composit
0 2 3 4 6 8 2
e
9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1
0 5 4 6 9 9 3

36
 CHAPTER 5

PRESENTATION OF FRICTION AND WEAR DATA

5.1 TRIBOGRAPHS

The results of Tribo-graphs lead to friction and wear data, generally referred to
as tribo-data, which are system dependant characteristics presented in form of
Tribo-graphs. Tribo-graphs are graphical representation of a measured friction of a
measured friction or wear quantity as a function of
 Operational parameters, for example, load, speed, abrasive grit size, or
compacting pressure.

 Structural parameters, for example material pairing, hardness, roughness, or

microstructure.

 Interaction parameters, for example contact stresses, film thickness to

roughness ratio, or lubrication modes

The graphical representation of this thesis work is based on operational

parameters.

37
 CHAPTER 6

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

6.1 RESULTS

microstructure The composite prepared using copper alloy as metal matrix

and the reinforcement is chosen as coconut shell ash which provides enough
tensile strength. The copper alloy has lead, tin and zinc stearate composition.
The results of the process parameters includes density, porosity, hardness and
wear rate are discussed below.

Density, Porosity, Hardness Studies

The prepared composite density are measured on the basis of Archimedes

principle. Figure 5 illustrates the density variations of copper alloy and the
copper-coconut shell ash composite with 5% and 10% reinforcement. Here the
inner circle values indicates the theoretical density values and the outer circle
represents the measured density value for copper and its composites. It is
inferred that the measured density value is lower than the theoretical value due
to the presence of coconut shell ash content in the copper-coconut shell ash
composite.

38
 And also the density value decreases with the increasing the addition of
coconut shell ash to the copper matrix.

Figure6.1. Density Variations of Composites

The porosity variations of the copper alloy and its composites is shown in
the Figure 6.1. The porosity values depends on the measured and calculated
density values of the composites. The porosity value increases with increasing
the addition of reinforcement.

Figure 6.2.Porosity Variations of Composites

39
 The hardness variations of the copper alloy and its composites is shown in
Figure 6.2. The hardness test values are obtained by the Vickers hardness tester.
The test results shows that the value increases from 138 VHN for copper alloy
to 175VHN for the composite with 10wt% reinforcement. The hardness of the
composites raises as the coconut shell ash percentage in the composite
increases.

Figure6.3. Hardness Variations of Composites

Wear Test
The results of Tribo-graphs lead to friction and wear data, generally
referred to as tribo-data, which are system dependent characteristics presented
in form of Tribo-graphs. Tribo-graphs are graphical representation of a
measured friction of a measured friction or wear quantity as a function of
operational parameters (load, speed, abrasive grit size, compacting pressure),
structural grit size (material pairing, hardness and roughness) and interaction
parameters (contact stresses, film thickness to roughness ratio). Here the
graphical representation of the tribo-data is based on operational parameters.
40
 Figure 6.4.Effect of load in wear test when tested at speed of 300 rpm

Figure 6.4 shows the graph between the wear rate and the applied load at
room temperature and compacting pressure as 390 MPa. To obtain the
deviation different abrasive grit papers are used. The results indicates that
increasing the load increases the wear rate. The results are measured at the
speed of 300rpm and the grit size 2/0 and 4/0. In the graph the line indicates
the grit size 2/0 and the bar indicates the grit size 4/0. It also displays that the
wear rate is reduced in the copper coconut shell ash composite compared to
the copper alloy.

Figure 6.5.Effect of load in wear test when tested at speed of 400 rpm
41
 Figure 6.5 shows the graph between the wear rate and the applied load at
room temperature and compacting pressure as 390 MPa. To obtain the deviation
different abrasive grit papers are used. The results indicates that increasing the
load increases the wear rate. The results are measured at the speed of 400rpm
and the grit size 2/0 and 4/0. In the graph the line indicates the grit size 2/0 and
the bar indicates the grit size 4/0. It also displays that the wear rate is reduced in
the copper –coconut shell ash composite compared to the copper alloy.

Figure 6.6.Effect of load in wear test when tested at speed of 500 rpm
Figure 6.6 shows the graph between the wear rate and the applied load at
room temperature and compacting pressure as 390 MPa. To obtain the deviation
different abrasive grit papers are used. The results indicates that increasing the
load increases the wear rate. The results are measured at the speed of 500rpm
and the grit size 2/0 and 4/0. In the graph the line indicates the grit size 2/0 and
the bar indicates the grit size 4/0. It also displays that the wear rate is reduced in
the copper –coconut shell ash composite compared to the copper alloy.

The microstructures of the copper- coconut shell ash composite is

42
 determined through SEM are presented in the Figure 6.7. It shows the
microscopic images of the copper- coconut ash composite compacted at
390MPa sintered at 600oC about half an hour.

Figure6.7. Microstructure of the composite processed under 350MPa

Figure 6.8.Wear surface Delamination

Figure 6.8 displays the delamination of the wear of the copper-coconut shell. It is
due to the presence of cracks in the composition. The particles for the wear test are
dragged out from the matrix and made contact with the pores which in turn
increases the risk of crack formation at the pores in the contact region.

43
 CHAPTER 7

CONCLUSION
The experiment includes the composite fabrication and estimation of the
parameters such as density, porosity, hardness and wear characteristics. The
conclusion can be made from the investigation of copper-coconut shell ash
composite fabricated via the powder metallurgy and the evaluation of its
properties as follows.
 The coconut ash powder decreases the density of the composite. By
increasing the percentage of the coconut shell ash particulates to the
composite inferred that it further decreases the composite density. The
practically obtained densities were lower than the theoretical value which
may due to the increasing coconut shell ash content.
 The coconut ash powder increases the porosity of the composite. By
increasing the coconut ash particulates percentage to the composite
inferred that it further increases the composite porosity.
 The composite of Cu-coconut ash hardness is higher when compared to
copper alloy hardness.
 Copper alloy is replaced by its composite reduces the wear rate and
increase the material life time
 The wear resistance increases due to the vander wall force.

44
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