In-Situ Formed Al₃Zr Compounds Reinforced Al Composites and Tribological Application

• Main Authors: Junko Umeda, Nodoka Nishimura, Hiroko Fujii, Lei Jia, Katsuyoshi Kondoh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: Crystals
• Subjects: solid-state reaction in vacuum; In-situ formed Al₃Zr; tribology; powder metallurgy
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/11/3/227
• ISSN: 2073-4352

An Al₃Zr-reinforced Al matrix composite using metal powders was fabricated via in-situ synthesis in vacuum; these were subjected to a pin-on-disc wear test with a SUS304 disc specimen under oil lubrication. The elemental mixture of Al and ZrH₂ particles was sintered in vacuum for the in-situ-formed Al₃Zr. ZrH₂ particles were thermally decomposed in the reaction with the Al matrix to form hard Al₃Zr intermetallic compounds. The friction coefficient and wear volume values of the Al–Al₃Zr composites were significantly lower than those of the pure Al specimen. This is attributed to the uniform dispersion of Al₃Zr particles in the Al matrix, which prevented the metallurgical bond from falling and blocked the direct contact between the Al matrix and SUS304 disc.