ARTICLE IN PRESS

Tribology International 43 (2010) 594–601

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Tribology International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/triboint

Influence of SiC, SiO2 and graphite on corrosive wear of bronze composites

subjected to acid rain
Kh.A. Ragaba, R. Abdel-Karim a,, S. Farag b, S.M. El-Raghy a, H.A. Ahmed a
a
Department of Metallurgy, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
b
Department of Powder Metallurgy, CMRDI-Helwan, Cairo, Egypt

a r t i c l e in f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Sintered aluminum bronze friction materials have been successfully used in clutches and breaks for
Received 13 December 2008 heavy-duty applications, due to their good wear resistance, cold workability, fatigue resistance and
Received in revised form corrosion resistance. The aim of the present work is the preparation and investigation of bronze-based
13 July 2009
composites for components subjected to motion in aqueous environments. Three of bronze-based
Accepted 21 September 2009
composites with different amounts of slide additive (graphite) and friction additives (SiC, SiO2) were
Available online 6 October 2009
prepared by powder metallurgy. The microstructure profiles of the obtained composite materials were
Keywords: characterized by uniform distribution of SiC, SiO2 and graphite particles within the bronze matrix. The
Anti-friction materials porosity decreased with increase in the number of pressing and sintering processes. High Vickers
Bronze composites
hardness values were registered for samples with higher reinforcement contents.
Graphite
A combination of electrochemical and gravimetric techniques was used in this study to assess
Corrosive wear
corrosive wear rates of these materials under neutralized as well as acid rain conditions. Increasing both
slide and friction additives improved the corrosion resistance of these bronze composites. Samples with
1.5% graphite, 3% SiO2 and 3% SiC had the highest corrosive wear resistance in neutralized as well as in
acid rain due to the high amount of anti-friction and slide additives, in addition to low porosity.
& 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Some studies refer to deterioration mechanisms of copper and

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are engineering materials
formed by the combination of a stiff and hard reinforcing phase in
metallic matrix. The matrix includes metals such as aluminum,
magnesium, copper and their alloys. The reinforcing materials are
ceramic materials like alumina, silicon carbide, boron nitride, etc., in
the form of continuous fibers or discontinuous fibers/particles [1,2].
Sintered aluminum bronze friction materials have been
successfully used in clutches and breaks for heavy-duty applica-
tions. Sridhara and Gopinath [3] studied the influence of SiC on
sintered aluminum bronze. SiC content between 4% and 8% is ideal
for the friction material. Sharma et al. [4] conducted sliding wear
test on bronze reinforced with SiC particles and compared with
pure bronze. Boz and Kurt [5] studied the effect of Al2O3 on the
friction performance of automotive brake frictionbronze-based
powders. The samples reinforced with 2% and 4% Al2O3 exhibited
the highest wear resistance. Addition of alumina particles in the
matrix improves strength and wear resistance in both dry and
lubricated conditions because of their good interfacial compat-
ibility with the matrix [1].
bronze composites under various climatic conditions, both neutral
and artificial [6–9]. Lancaster [6] studied the influence of environ-
ment humidity and water on friction lubrication and wear. The role
of microstructure of nickel–aluminum bronze alloy on its cavitation
corrosion behavior in natural sea water was investigated by
Al-Hashem and Riad [7]. According to Jia et al. [8], the bronze
graphite composite (8% graphite) showed much better wear
resistance under water lubricated sliding than under dry sliding.
In this work, the electrochemical behavior of bronze compo-
sites with silicon carbide, silica as well as graphite additives, in
neutralized as well as acid rain, was studied in comparison with
un-reinforced bronze. The effects of chemical composition, pH
and sliding speed were investigated. It is expected that the
present work would be helpful in the selection of bronze-based
composites for components subjected to motion in aqueous
environments.
2. Experimental procedures
2.1. Materials

 Corresponding author. Mob.: +2 0106690945. The investigated materials were bronze MMCs containing different
E-mail address: randa38@hotmail.com (R. Abdel-Karim). amounts of SiC, SiO2 and graphite . For comparison, un-reinforced

0301-679X/$ - see front matter & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.triboint.2009.09.008
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Kh Ragab et al. / Tribology International 43 (2010) 594–601 595

Table 1
Materials characterization after consolidation processes.

Group Composition (%) Property Process

Pressing + sintering Re-pressing + re-sintering

Bronze 85% Cu, Theoretical density 8.8925 g/cm3 8.8925 g/cm3

5% Sn–5% Pb–5% Zn Sintered density 8.2701 g/cm3 8.6079 g/cm3
Relative density 93% 96.8%
Porosity na 3.2%

A 97.5% bronze + Theoretical density 8.4197 g/cm3 8.4197 g/cm3

1% SiC–1% SiO2–5% C Sintered density 7.8204 g/cm3 8.108 g/cm3
Relative density 92.8% 96.5%
Porosity na 3.5%

B 95 bronze + Theoretical density 7.9594 g/cm3 7.9594 g/cm3

2% SiC–2% SiO2–1% C Sintered density 5.8421 g/cm3 7.601 g/cm3
Relative density 73.4% 95.5%
Porosity 4.5%

Ca 92.5 bronze + Theoretical density 7.3815 g/cm3 7.3815 g/cm3

3% SiC–3% SiO2–1.5% C Sintered density 5.125 g/cm3 7.195 g/cm3
Relative density 69.3% 97.4%
Porosity na 2.6%

a
Subjected to re-pressing and re-sintering for 3 times.

5 6
(6)

3 2
4

(1) (2) (3) (4)

1

Fig. 1. Corrosive wear machine: 1—rotating acrylic cell; 2—teflon specimen’s

holder; 3—balancing arm; 4—speed control; 5—potentiostat; 6—load.

(5)

bronze alloy (5% Sn, 5% Pb, 5% Zn, Bal. Cu) using commercial powder
was processed. The chemical analysis of three bronze composite
groups (A, B and C) is shown in Table 1. These samples were prepared
by means of powder metallurgy (P/M) route by mixing for 24 h 0.5 kg
of bronze powders with different amounts of slide additives (graphite
powders) and friction additives (SiC, SiO2) in addition to a certain
amount of lubricant (waxes) in a mixing machine.. The particle size of
SiC and SiO2 used was  180 mm. These three mixtures were
subjected to compaction under 350 MPa pressure and sintered at
900 1C in a reducing atmosphere for 1 h. The sintered materials were
subjected to re-pressing and re-sintering processes to achieve higher
densification and lower porosity, where rods with 1.47 cm height and
1.2 cm diameter were obtained. The Vickers hardness was measured
using a 10 kg load in different areas along the samples.
2.2. Corrosive wear test
Corrosive wear setup (Figs. 1 and 2) consisted of acrylic
rotating electrochemical cell of 18 cm inner diameter and 20 cm
height. The counter piece is grit-40 abrasive disc fixed at the
Fig. 2. Schematic drawing of corrosive wear cell: 1—rotating acrylic cell;
2—specimen’s holder; 3—saturated calomel electrode; 4—graphite auxiliary
electrode; 5—abrasive rotating disc; 6—potentiostat.
bottom of the rotating cell. The electrochemical cell comprised a
calomel reference electrode connected by a salt bridge and a
graphite counter electrode. A balancing arm holding 4 kg/cm2
load, allowed only vertical movement to the specimen’s holder
attached to it. The bronze and bronze composite working
electrodes (cross-sectional area 0.5 cm2) were mechanically
ground with SiC papers up to no. 800, followed by polishing
using alumina paste and then rinsed with water and acetone. The
surface roughness values Rz of MMCs samples and abrasive
rotating disc were 4.3 and 800 mm, respectively, where Rz is the
average peak to valley height.
The initial and final potentials as well as the scanning rate
were determined using a Meinsberg potentiostat/galvanostat
apparatus model PS6. The potential was raised anodically from
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596 Kh Ragab et al. / Tribology International 43 (2010) 594–601
Table 2
Chemical analysis of acid rain solution, after Brunoro et al. [9].
Material Sulfuric acid Nitric acid Sodium sulfate
Conc. g/l water 0.032 0.015 0.032
200 mV relative to open circuit potential (OCP) up to 1000 mV
above (OCP) at a scan rate of 0.5 mV/sec. The corrosion currents
(mA/cm2) and corresponding corrosion rate (mm/yr) were
determined by extrapolation of the anodic and cathodic regions
of the polarization curves at the Tafel regions. In addition to
stagnant condition, potentiodynamic tests were conducted under
sliding speeds 15 and 30 cm/s. The electrochemical measurements
were used in conjunction with weight loss analysis to determine
the contribution of corrosion and mechanical wear under
corrosive wear conditions.
Taken after Brunoro et al. [9], the chemical analysis of acid rain
solution (pH= 3.1) used for potentiodynamic testing are shown in
Table 2. The composition of neutralized acid rain solution was the
same as that acid rain but it was neutralized using sodium
hydroxide, where pH of the solution is adjusted to 6.5.
The microstructure of the specimens was examined before and
after corrosive wear test using SEM analysis.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Metal matrix composite characterization
The characteristics of bronze MMCs samples after processing
are summarized in Table 1. The experimental densities of bronze
and bronze composites after sintering were 8.6079, 8.108, 7.601,
7.195 gm/cm3. Re-pressing and re-sintering processes were used
to make limitation to expansion mechanism that results from the
non-wettability between the graphite and bronze matrix. The
relative density increased with increase in the number of re-
pressing and re-sintering processes. Table 1 shows that group C
has the highest relative density, because it was subjected to more
re-pressing and re-sintering processes compared to groups A
and B.
The relative density increased, and the porosity decreased with
increase in the number of re-pressing and re-sintering processes
(Table 1). For example, group C was subjected to re-pressing and
re-sintering processes three times, in order to improve the relative
density from 69.3% to 97.4%. The corresponding porosity values
were 3.5%, 4.5% and 2.6% for specimens A, B and C, respectively.
Fig. 3 presents Vickers hardness results for three bronze
composites. It can also be seen from this figure that hardness
increased with increase in reinforcement content. The mean
hardness values (average of three measurements) for samples A, B
and C were 71, 87 and 98, respectively.
Fig. 4 illustrates the microstructure of the bronze composite
groups A, B and C after sintering using scanning electron
microscope (SEM). SiC particles were presented as sharp-edged
grey particles in the matrix, while SiO2 particles were detected as
un-sharp white ones. The graphite particles were presented as
irregular small black particles. These figures illustrate the
different contents of SiC, SiO2 and graphite, where group A has
the lowest contents of additives that increased gradually in groups
B and C. In addition, the obtained composite materials are
characterized by uniform distribution of SiC, SiO2 and graphite
particles within the bronze matrix. No cracks or particles
clustering are detected. The interface between SiO2, SiC and
matrix is filled with graphite, and no separation can be detected.
Sodium nitrate Sodium chloride Ammonium sulfate Tap water
0.021 0.084 0.046 Bal.
120
Vickers Hardness, Hv
100
80
60
40
20
0
A B C
Sample type
Fig. 3. Hardness values for bronze MMCs with different SiO2, SiC and graphite
contents.
3.3. Electrochemical tests
3.3.1. Stagnant conditions
Fig. 5 represents the corrosion behavior bronze MMCs
specimens tested in artificial acid rain solution with pH =3.1.
For groups A, B and C, an anodic dissolution peak followed by a
quazisteady state was observed at 300 mV. The sharpness of the
peak was the highest for group A. The low current in the steady-
state region after this peak indicates the presence of a protective
film on the matrix component of the MMCs. The break down
potential of steady-state region occurred at zero mV for all
samples.
From Table 3, group C had the lowest corrosion rate (0.05 mm/
yr) with the least negative corrosion potential ( 284 mV).
Upon using neutralized acid rain (pH= 6.5), Fig. 6 indicated a
continuous anodic dissolution for the bronze composite groups,
where no steady state was observed. The anodic polarization part
was composed of two regions with increasing slope. This change
in anodic current density started almost at 200 mV. The
breakdown potential was shifted to a more positive value,
compared to acid rain.
Similar to acid rain, as presented in Table 4, a remarkable shift
in corrosion potential resulted from the addition of anti-friction
and slide additives. The corrosion potential values were 310,
254 and 160 mV for the bronze composites groups A, B and C,
respectively. Slight change in corrosion rate was detected by
increasing the friction and slide additives under neutralized acid
rain conditions.
It can be concluded that group C showed high corrosion
resistance when tested at stagnant condition in artificial acid rain
as well as neutralized rain, where the corrosion rates were 0.05
and 0.04 mm/yr, respectively.
3.3.2. Corrosive wear test
Fig. 7a and b represents the corrosive wear behavior of the
bronze MMCs groups tested in artificial acid rain solution as a
function of sliding speed.
At sliding speed 15 cm/s, the corrosion potential values were
415, 401 and 284 mV, and the corrosion current values were
0.08, 0.09, 0.04 mA/cm2 for groups A, B and C, respectively.
Increasing the sliding speed to 30 cm/s, a positive shift in
corrosion potential of groups A, B and C was detected, and group
C has less active corrosion potential than groups A and B.
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Kh Ragab et al. / Tribology International 43 (2010) 594–601
SiO2
Graphite
SiC
Graphite
SiO2
SiC
Fig. 4. SEM micrographs of bronze MMCs prepared groups after sintering: (a1) specimen A at 50  ; (a2) specimen A at 500  ; (b1) specimen B at 50  ; (b2) specimen B at
500  ; (c1) specimen C at 50  ; (c2) specimen C at 500  .
The corrosion potential values were 415, 391 and 109 mV;
whereas, the corrosion current values were 0.10, 0.11, 0.05 mA/cm2
for groups A, B and C, respectively.
The detrimental mechanical effect of abrasive disc is observed
by the increase in the corrosion current, with increase in sliding
speed. The lowest corrosion current value and less active
corrosion potential were registered for group C, with transition
from stagnant condition to sliding condition. This is due to the
high amount of slide and friction additives in addition to low
amount of porosity.
3.4. Gravimetric analysis
It is apparent that materials subjected to erosive environments
must not only resist mechanical wear, but also damage by
corrosion. The weight loss measured after corrosive wear test,
for sliding speed 15 as well as 30 cm/s, is shown in Fig. 8. The un-
597
SiC
SiO2
Graphite
SiC
reinforced specimens exhibited the highest corrosive wear rate
compared with bronze MMCs. The lowest weight loss
measurement was detected for specimen C. For example, at
speed 15 cm/s, specimen C proved to have a weight loss of 3.8
mg/cm2/s, compared with specimen A having a weight loss of
6.2 mg/cm2/s. In addition, the weight losses increased with
increase in sliding speed. Unexpected high weight loss in case of
specimen B is attributed to its high porosity content.
3.5. Microstructure examination of bronze composite materials after
static corrosion and corrosive wear test
Fig. 9 shows the damaging mechanism at a range of potentials
through the polarization curve for specimen C tested in acid rain
at stagnant conditions, starting from Ecorr ( 400 mV). The most
predominant corrosion degradation exists at the interface
between the matrix-reinforcement zones as shown in
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598 Kh Ragab et al. / Tribology International 43 (2010) 594–601

1
0.83*10

0
0.83*10

current_density (mA/cm2)
-1
0.83*10
A
-2
0.83*10
B
-3
C
0.83*10

-4
0.83*10

-5
0.83*10

-6
0.83*10
-1000 -800 -600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600 800
Potential (mV)

Fig. 5. Polarization curves of P/M bronze composites at stagnant conditions in artificial acid rain (pH= 3.1).

Table 3
Corrosion data at stagnant condition in artificial acid rain solution.

Group Ecorr (mV) Icorr (mA/cm2) Corrosion rate (mm/pyr)

Bronze 240 0.005 0.09

A 415 0.006 0.09
B 401 0.011 0.16
C 284 0.002 0.05

0.83*102

0.83*101
Current_density (mA/cm2)

0.83*100

0.83*10-1

0.83*10-2

0.83*10-3

0.83*10-4 A
C
0.83*10-5 B

0.83*10-6
-1000 -800 -600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600 800
Potential (mV)

Fig. 6. Polarization curves of bronze composite groups at stagnant condition in neutralized acid rain (pH= 6.5).

Table 4
Corrosion data at stagnant condition in acid rain solution.

Group Ecorr (mV) Icorr (mA/cm2) Corrosion rate (mm/pyr)

Bronze 280 0.002 0.05

A 310 0.002 0.05
B 254 0.002 0.05
C 160 0.001 0.04

micrographs number a, b, c, d. The degree of attack increased with Fig. 10(a–d) shows the scanning electron micrographs of the
increase in the polarization potential until whole matrix was also three groups after corrosive wear test, indicating the effect of
attacked (Fig. 9c and d). slide and friction additives as well as sliding speed. For group A
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Kh Ragab et al. / Tribology International 43 (2010) 594–601 599

9
0.12 8 15cm/sec

Total Mass loss(mg/cm2. sec)

A B C
7
Current density, mA/cm2

0.1 30 cm/sec
6
0.08
5
0.06 4
0.04 3
2
0.02
1
0 0
0 15 30
bronze A B C
Rotation speed, cm/sec
Sample Type

Fig. 8. Gravimetric analysis of corrosive wear test of bronze MMCs in acid rain.
Corrosion potential, -mV vs SCE

550
500 A B
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0 (2) O2 + 4H + + 4e =2H2O (cathodic reaction)
0 15 30
Rotation speed
Fig. 7. (a) Effect of wear speeds on corrosion current of bronze MMCs tested in
artificial acid rain and (b) effect of wear speeds on corrosion potential of bronze
MMCs in artificial acid rain.
(Fig. 10a) with least reinforcing additives, the features showed a
damaged surface with lamination and delaminating wear
mechanisms, at speed 15 cm/s. Fig. 10b revealed a grooved
surface with lip formation for group B composites with 3%
SiC+ 3% SiO2 + 1.5% C.
Meanwhile, Group C (Fig. 10c) has the lowest surface
damage that is shown by smooth wear patterns due to the high
content of slide and friction additives that cause high wear
resistance.
Generally, the degree of attack also increased by increasing the
sliding speed from 15 to 30 cm/s (Fig. 10d, e, f).
4. Discussion
Anti-friction materials comprising Cu with graphite are widely
used because of their low friction coefficient, but strength and
wear resistance are low due to the weakening effect of the
graphite [10].
The bronze alloys exhibit good wear resistance, good machin-
ability, cold workability, fatigue resistance and corrosion resis-
tance. Its high strength and wear resistance make it suitable for
wear and abrasion resistance applications. Incorporation of
ceramic reinforcements will certainly enhance the wear and
friction properties of this wear-resistant alloy [4].
Copper and its alloys are unique among the corrosion-resistant
alloys, i.e. they do not form a truly passive corrosion product film.
In aqueous environments at ambient temperatures, the corrosion
product predominantly responsible for protection is cuprous
oxide (Cu2O). This Cu2O film is adherent and follows parabolic
growth kinetics [11].
Under static conditions, from Tables 3 and 4, it is clear that the
corrosion rate of the tested materials at acidic medium is higher
C
than that at neutral medium due to more anodic dissolution of Cu
in the acidic solution according to the following anodic and
cathodic reactions:
(1) 2Cu =2Cu2 + +4e (anodic reaction)
Under static conditions, the polarization behavior of bronze
MMC was characterized by a passive layer formation (Fig. 5).
Once an abrasive effect is added by using the rotating abrasive
disc, the mechanical effects play a significant role in destroying
any passivity on the SiC- and SiO2-based MMC and repeatedly
activate the copper-based matrix, leading to high corrosion
rates.
Fig. 7a indicated that corrosion current for the three P/M
prepared groups increases with increase in sliding speed, where
the lowest corrosion current and thus the best corrosion
resistance were shown for group C in neutralized acid rain as
well as artificial acid rain at stagnant and rotation conditions. This
is due to the increase in the amount of friction additives (SiO2, SiC)
and slide additives (graphite).
The decrease in negative corrosion potential with increase in
sliding speed (Fig. 7b) could be due to more agitation, and thus
introduction of more oxygen into electrolyte during corrosive
wear process, allowing surface re-passivation, and thus causing a
potential shift towards less active direction. The decrease in
negative corrosion potential with increase in sliding speed could
be also attributed to the removal of graphite layers from the
surface of tested materials during corrosive wear test.
Graphite particles are used as lubricant to reduce friction and
minimize wear in case of sliding contacts. The presence of the
lubricating film prevents direct contact between the mating
surfaces resulting in good tribological properties. The addition of
solid lubricant particles into a metal matrix improves not only the
anti-friction properties, but also wear and friction properties [12].
Zabolotnyi et al. [13] have reported that the copper–graphite
materials are recommended as anti-friction materials for high-
speed rubbing pairs. Investigations of the physicomechanical and
tribological characteristics have shown that such materials
possess a very low coefficient of friction but as a result of the
weakening action of graphite, their wear resistance and mechan-
ical properties are low. The properties of copper–graphite
materials may be improved by alloying them with tin, zinc, lead
and other friction additives. In friction without lubrication, dense
powder metallurgy materials are of special interest since pores
are stress raisers and cause an increase in wear. With an increase
in graphite content the number of stress raisers (pores) increase,
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600 Kh Ragab et al. / Tribology International 43 (2010) 594–601
Fig. 9. Corrosion mechanism as observed from polarization test in acid rain at stagnant conditions for sample C (3% SiO2, 3% SiC, %graphite). (a) At Ecorr (
(b) at 300 mV; (c) at 0 mV; (d) at 200 mV.
which eases failure of the surface in friction. Therefore, to obtain
materials with low porosity, the specimens were prepared by
double pressing and sintering.
Pederson et al. [12] have reported that an interesting
feature of the sintering of bronze matrix composite with
increase in graphite contents is the expansion in the direction
of compaction. The expansion mechanism results due to the
effect of coarsening of copper grains during sintering at
high temperature (up to 1000 1C) in combination with non-
wetting between graphite and copper. The growing copper
grains push the graphite particles apart as a consequence of
the lack of wetting between the two phases, which leads to a
net expansion. The lack of wetting between bronze and
graphite plays a role in inhibiting the densification process.
The expansion is anisotropic since most of it occurs in the
direction of compaction. The anisotropy is probably primarily
an effect of ordering of the graphite particles during compac-
tion with the c-axis preferentially along the direction of
compaction. The expansion mechanism is probably a relief of
residual stresses in the graphite phase built up during
compaction.
According to this work, re-pressing and re-sintering pro-
cesses were used to limit the expansion process that results
from the non-wettability between the graphite and the bronze
matrix. The relative density was increased, and thus porosity
was decreased with increase in the number of re-pressing and
re-sintering processes (Table 1). For example, group C was
subjected to re-pressing and re-sintering processes three times
400 mV);
in order to improve the relative density from 69.3% to 97.4%.
Accordingly, the highest corrosive wear resistance in artificial
acid rain, and neutralized rain was observed.
Sridhara and Gopinath [3] have reported about the influence of
friction additives content on interconnected porosity and dimen-
sional changes. They reported that with increase in SiC content,
the interconnected porosity decreases; so does the dimensional
changes. Furthermore, SiC does not undergo any change and it
also does not react with the base matrix. The wear resistance
increases with increase in friction additives content.
Sharma et al. [4] have reported that SiC, a ceramic material, due
to its directional covalent bonds and relatively lower concentrations
and mobility of crystalline defects, is not prone to seizure under
rubbing conditions. This property along with high strength, wear
resistance, corrosion resistance, etc., has shown that this material is a
possible candidate for use in wear-resistance applications. The wear
rate of the composite was lower than that of the base alloy without
SiC reinforcement. This is obviously due to the release of SiC by the
composite specimens on to the mating surface during sliding, which
provides resistance to wear. During the sliding wear, the SiC particles
get sheared and adhere to the metal surface with the major axis
parallel to the sliding direction forming a thin film between the
mating surfaces. Moreover, the hard film of SiC has very limited
ductility and has the ability to withstand stress without plastic
deformation or fracture under low load conditions. It is well-
established that the wear rate and surface damage can be minimized
if the plastic deformation of the material at the counter interface is
prevented. The hard film of SiC withstands high stresses without
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Kh Ragab et al. / Tribology International 43 (2010) 594–601
Fig. 10. SEM micrographs of bronze composite groups A, B and C after testing in acid rain at rotation speed 15 cm/s as well as 30 cm/s: (a) A, 15 cm/s; (b) B, 15 cm/s; (c) C,
15 cm/s; (d) A, 30 cm/s; (e) B, 30 cm/s; (f) C, 30 cm/s.
plastic deformation or fracture and is very effective in reducing the
wear rate in the case of composites [4].
The presence of SiC and SiO2 in the bronze friction materials
used as brakes in automotive parts gives high resistance to
corrosive wear at high speeds and low speeds, under acidic and
neutral aqueous conditions, respectively.
5. Conclusions
1 The increase in amount of graphite (slide additive) leads to a
decrease in densification of materials after sintering due to the
expansion in the direction of compaction resulting from the
non-wettability between the bronze matrix and the graphite
reinforcing particles.
2 The increase in the number of re-pressing and re-sintering
processes during P/M preparation of the materials leads to a
decrease in the amount of porosity and the expansion
percentage.
3 Group C of bronze composite materials has the highest
corrosive wear resistance in the artificial acid rain, as well as
acid rain, due to the high amount of slide and friction additives
in addition to the low amount of porosity.
4 As pH values of different media decrease (increasing in
acidity), the corrosive wear resistance of bronze friction
materials decreases, and group C was less sensitive to pH
change.
601
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