Analysis of Damping and Wear Characteristics of Tungsten Carbide reinforced AA6061 Composites

Abstract

In this research, the vibration damping property and dry sliding wear resistance of tungsten carbide reinforced aluminium AA6061 composites were investigated. The fabrications of test specimens were carried out using the stir casting method. Three samples were taken for study with percentages of reinforcements as 0%, 4%, and 8% of tungsten carbide by volume fraction. The samples were cut and machined to cylindrical pins as per ASTM standard for pin-on-disc wear analysis. Another set of samples with rectangular cross-sections was used as beams for experimental modal analysis using the Impact hammer test to study the damping factor and natural frequency. Based on the test results, it was found that there is minimum wear resistance in the reinforced alloy when compared to the unreinforced alloy and also the reinforced alloy had an improved coefficient of friction. From the impact hammer test, the results show that the reinforced alloy had a high natural frequency and improved damping factor when compared with the unreinforced alloy. The hard ceramic tungsten carbide particulate improves the resistance to wear as well as improves the damping behavior. This research can be helpful in many industrial applications, heavy machineries, automotive applications. This material can be developed to use as a machine base, chassis where wear resistance and vibration damping need to be predominantly monitored.