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Tribo-mechanical characterization of self-lubricating aluminium based

hybrid metal matrix composite fabricated via powder metallurgy

Norul Amierah Binti Nor Zamani , AKM Asif Iqbal ,

Dewan Muhammad Nuruzzaman

PII: S2589-1529(20)30352-5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtla.2020.100936
Reference: MTLA 100936

To appear in: Materialia

Received date: 15 March 2020

Accepted date: 19 October 2020

Please cite this article as: Norul Amierah Binti Nor Zamani , AKM Asif Iqbal ,
Dewan Muhammad Nuruzzaman , Tribo-mechanical characterization of self-lubricating aluminium
based hybrid metal matrix composite fabricated via powder metallurgy, Materialia (2020), doi:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtla.2020.100936

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Tribo-mechanical characterization of self-lubricating aluminium based
hybrid metal matrix composite fabricated via powder metallurgy

Norul Amierah Binti Nor Zamani, AKM Asif Iqbal*, Dewan Muhammad Nuruzzaman

Faculty of Manufacturing and Mechatronic Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26600 Pekan,

Pahang, Malaysia

*
Email: asifiqbal@ump.edu.my
Graphical abstract
Abstract

In this research, the tribo-mechanical behaviour of self-lubricating aluminium (Al) based hybrid metal matrix

composites (MMCs) reinforced with graphite (Gr) and Al2 O3 particles (Al+Gr+Al2 O3 ) were studied aiming to

obtain the superior wear and mechanical properties in a single material. Three different compositions of hybrid

MMCs were fabricated by powder metallurgy technique, their wear and mechanical properties were tested and

compared with pure Al and Al+Gr composite. The microstructure of the samples was examined and various

mechanical properties such as microhardness, tensile and flexural strength were evaluated. The wear behav iour

of the hybrid MMCs was investigated by using a pin-on-disc tribometer. The results revealed that the combined

effect of Al2 O3 and graphite reinforcement particles significantly improved the wear and mechanical properties

of hybrid MMCs. All the mechanical properties were increased and the wear rate and coefficient of friction were

decreased remarkably. Besides, the reinforcement composition of 3%Gr and 10%Al2 O3 (Al+3%Gr+10%Al2 O3 )

forms a smooth tribosurface thus increases the wear-resistant properties at the highest level than that of other

compositions of the hybrid MMCs.

Keywords: Metal-matrix composites (MMCs), Mechanical properties, Wear, Powder metallurgy.

1. Introducti on

The continuous development in the aerospace, automot ive, electronics and biomedical fields leads the

development of new materials. Especially, lightweight materials combined with high mechanical properties

possess keen interest nowadays in the automotive and aerospace industries. However, the multifunctional

properties demand in such applications is unobtainable in any single material. Therefore, the combination of

materials to produce composites is now being popular today. Aluminium is considered as the second most used

metal in the world. Due to its exceptional specific strength and stiffness together with outstanding thermal and

electrical conductivities, high formability and excellent corrosion resistance ability makes it popular and most

widely employed material in the industry [1–4]. Unfortunately, aluminium and aluminium alloys exhibit

significantly poor wear resistance that limits their use in high-performance tribological applications [5,6].

Usually, the aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) composed of ceramic reinforcements such as SiC, Al2 O3 ,

B4 C, TiB2 exhibit improved wear resistance over the monolithic materials [5–10]. Besides, the matrix properties

as well as the size, nature, shape and volume fraction of the reinforcement materials and their compatibility with

the matrix, extremely influence the wear performance of AMCs [10–12].

Another approach of improving the wear performance of AMCs is to incorporate reinforcement with

the high lubricating capability and make the composite self-lubricant. Graphite is popularly known as a solid

lubricant and among other materials , this can be a better choice when lubrication becomes a prime concern.

Adding graphite to the aluminium matrix reduces the number of periodic lubrication and improves the

component life [13–15]. Previous studies observed that the addition of a small amount of graphite to the Al-SiC

composite tremendously enhanced the wear resistance and reduced the friction coefficient. Deaquino et al. [15]

investigated the tribological characteristics of Al7075-Gr composite fabricated by mechanical milling and found

that only 1.5% of Gr addition tremendously improved the wear resistance of the composite. Further, Leng et al.

[16] studied the dry sliding wear performance in squeeze-cast Al2024 alloy-Gr composite. Their results revealed

that the addition of only 5% Gr decreases the friction coefficient and increases the wear resistance by 170 to 340

times depending on the size of the graphite particles. Besides, Lokesh and Mallik [17] experimented the wear

behaviour of stir-cast Al-Gr composite with the addition of only 3% Gr. They employed Taguchi technique and

evaluated the relationship of wear rate with applied load and sliding distance. Their results reported that the

wear rate is strongly influenced by the applied load. These researchers explained that the small amount of

graphite particles that present in the composite act as a lubricant and develops a thin lubricating film on the
tribosurface which makes the surface smooth and prevents metal to metal contact results in reducing the

coefficient of friction and wear rate [16, 18-20]. In contrary, some studies reported that the presence of the

higher percentage of graphite in the composite lead s to surface deterioration due to the degraded fracture

toughness and the wear properties become difficult to obtain in the satisfactory level [13, 14]. Although, it is

obvious that an impressive wear performance can be obtained by the addition of graphite to the metallic matrix,

however, it is reported that using graphite drastically reduces the mechanical properties of the composite [13,

21]. This property degradation restricts the use of the graphite reinforced composite in structural applications.

To overcome this problem, a s olution could be to incorporate a third ceramic particle such as SiC or Al2 O3 in

Al-Gr mixture and make a hybrid composite. This strategy could be useful to compensate for the weakening

effects caused by the graphite and to enhance the overall mechanical properties of the composite required in

developing structural components. Few studies have investigated this approach in order to obtain different

mechanical and tribological properties together in a single hybrid material. Cheng-jin et al [22] developed

2024Al/SiC/Gr hybrid composite by vacuum hot pressing and investigated the microstructure and mechanical

properties of the fabricated hybrid MMC. They have reported that the addition of 3-6% Gr and 5-10% SiC to the

Al alloy significantly improved the hardness and tensile strength. Further, Mosleh et al [23] investigated the

mechanical and wear behaviour of powder metallurgy processed Al/SiC/Gr hybrid MMC in the ambient

environment and acidic solution. The hybrid MMC exhibited high young’s modulus and tensile strength as well

as increased wear resistance. In general, the mechanical properties of MMCs mostly rely on the fabrication

process, orientation as well as the distribution of the reinforcement particles. Uniform dispersion of reinforcing

particles throughout the matrix is one of the basic requirements for enhancing the properties of MMCs [24].

Non-uniform particle distribution develops agglomeration and cluster of particles in the matrix surface which

eventually becomes a vulnerable site of crack initiation, thus degrades the overall mechanical properties of the

MMCs. Generally, MMCs are prepared by a variety of production methods such as conventional casting [25],

stir casting [26], spray forming [27] mechanical alloying [15] and powder metallurgy [28-29]. MMCs produced

by the conventional casting process display poor wettability between reinforceme nt and matrix and produce

intermetallic compounds, accompanied by porosity at the particle -matrix interfaces [30-31]. As previously

mentioned, non-uniformity of the reinforcement is another important issue that always encounters in the casting

process. Researchers employed different techniques to obtain uniformity of the reinforcing particles. Mula et al.

[32] achieved a uniform distribution of ceramic reinforcement in the Al and Mg matrix alloy using the ultrasonic

method. However, this process is expensive and difficult to produce in large scale. Amongst the various
production techniques , powder metallurgy is considered as one of the best production methods of MMCs. This

technique ensures better reinforcement dispersion into the matrix over other techniques and is useful to produce

near-net-shape parts and is also maintain fair dimensional tolerance for the complex geometries [33-35].

Additionally, this process is chemically non-reactive and it facilitates fabrication of MMCs with high

reinforcement contents [36-37]. Although the powder metallurgy process exhibits some superior quality,

however, the production of graphite and Al2 O3 reinforced aluminium hybrid MMC by using powder metallurgy

technique have rarely reported and thus the present study aims to fabricate a hybrid MMC by powder metallurgy

process and to evaluate their mechanical and tribological properties.

2. Experimental :

2.1. Powder preparation:

To conduct the present study, self-lubricating hybrid MMCs with different weight percentages of the

reinforcement constituents were prepared using powder metallurgy route. In this experiment, aluminium

powders with 99% purity and mean particle size of 74 µm were used as the matrix mate rial. Moreover, 99%

pure Al2 O3 and graphite powders with mean particle sizes of 10 µm and 20 µm respectively were applied as the

reinforcements. Previous study reported that the Al-based composite exhibited superiority in tribological

performance once it contains 3% Gr particles [13]. Based on this finding, the concentration of Gr was kept

constant to 3% while the percentage of Al2 O3 had been varied in fabricating different composition of the hybrid

composite. The composition of different types of samples used in the study is presented in Table 1. All the

constituent powders were carefully measured on a digital weighing balance as per the predefined weight

percentage values. Then the powders were mixed in a high -energy planetary ball mill (Model: RETSCH PM

100) to get the homogeneous powder mixture. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was added (2% of the powder mass) to

the powder mixture as a process control agent in order to avoid the agglomeration of the powder and prevent

powder deposition on the walls of the vial and balls. The mixing was carried out at room temperature for 2 hours

with a rotational speed of 300 rpm to ensure the uniformity of the mixture. After the milling process,

microstructural analysis of the mixed powders was conducted by using Scanning Electron Microscopy SEM

(JOEL model 6390). The SEM images of the as -received aluminium, Al2 O3 and graphite powder and the

mixture of the hybrid powder are shown in Figure 1. The Al particles are spherical and ellipsoidal shape and the

Al2 O3 particles are cubic and cuboid shape. Besides, the graphite particles are in the shape of flakes. The mixed

hybrid powder as shown in Figure 1 (g, h) demonstrates a homogeneous distribution of the reinforcement Al2 O3

and graphite particles in the Al matrix that has been achieved during the milling process . Most of the aluminium
powders are porous in their nature and the SEM analysis revealed a few big macro-agglomerations in the

aluminium powders as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1(a). The presence of macro-agglomerations may

have an impact on the mechanical properties of the material as these may contain porosity. The phase evolution

of the mixed powders was performed using a high-resolution X-ray diffractometer (Shimadzu XRD 6000). All

the powder samples were cleaned with acetone and dried in the air before the X-ray diffraction studies. The

XRD patterns of the as-received powders and the ball-milled powders are shown in Figure 2. The obtained

Bragg angles were matched with standard values for Al, Al2 O3 , and Gr. The XRD pattern displays high-intensity

Al, oxygen and carbon peaks in Figure 2(d) indicates the presence of Al, Al2 O3 , and Gr in the hybrid powder

mixture.

2.2. Compacti on and sintering:

After mixing the constituent powders, the hybrid powder mixture was pressed in a single -die uniaxial

hydraulic press (TOYO: Model TL30, capacity: 300 kN). The compaction was performed at room temperature

and a nominal load of 250 kN was applied to the powder mixture for 30s and then released. Subsequently, the

green compact specimens were obtained. The cohesive strength of these green specimens became very low and

these were very fragile, however, the compaction was performed with an appropriate load so that these green

specimens can be handled and transported to the sintering furnace for the subsequent heat-treatment process.

Zinc stearate was used in the die wall as a lubricating agent and was applied manually before each compaction

process. The prepared green compact samples were then sintered in a vacuum sintering furnace (BSO-1200G) at

630 ºC for 2 h and then cool to room temperature in the furnace. Consequently, the sintered cylindrical and

tensile samples as illustrated in Figure 3 were prepared for wear and mechanical tests.

2.3. Mechanical test:

The microstructural characterization of the samples was carried out using optical microscopy

(OLYMPUS BX51M, Made in Japan) and SEM to study the distribution of the reinforcement Al2 O3 and Gr on

the Al matrix and to observe any anomalies that may present in the prepared samples . The sintered specimens

were polished to reduce the scratches and prepared for microstructural characterization and different mechanical

tests. Polishing was carried out conventionally with consecutive abrasive papers of grades 2000 and 2500. The

final polishing was performed using 3 µm and 1 µm diamond paste suspended in distilled water in a mechanical

polishing machine in order to obtain a mirror-like surface finish. This microstructural analysis was performed on

the top polished surface of the specimens. The hardness of the pure Al and the fabricated hybrid MMCs with

different percentage of reinforcement was measured in a Vickers hardness t ester (Wilson Hardness: Model 402
MVD, Made in USA) in accordance with ASTM E384-99. A 300 gf (2.94 N) load was applied with a dwell time

of 20 s to all the specimens. The test was conducted at room temperature and ten measurements were taken

along the longitudinal axis with a minimum interval of 1 mm to avoid the influence of adjacent indentations.

Finally, the obtained mean value was considered as the Vickers hardness (HV) value. The tensile strength of the

pure Al and hybrid MMCs was evaluated by uniaxial tension tests performed at room temperature in a universal

testing machine (INSTRON 3369) as per the guidelines specified in ASTM 08-8. The prepared tensile

specimens (Figure 3d) were used for the experiment. A 100 kN load cell was applied with a displacement rate of

0.016 mm/s to the specimens during the tensile test. Lastly, the data was recorded by using a computerized data

acquisition system and the tensile properties of the hybrid MMCs were explored by the obtained stress-strain

diagram. Besides, the flexural strength of the hybrid MMCs was investigated by a typical three-point bending

test in rectangular shaped specimens. A special bending fixture was attached to the Universal Testing Machine

(INSTRON 3369) for conducting the study. A 100 kN load cell was used and a constant displacement rate of 1

mm/min was maintained. Finally, the load and deflection data were recorded by a computerized data acquisition

system and the bending stress was calculated.

2.4. Wear test

The dry sliding wear behaviour of the fabricated hybrid MMCs was investigated using a pin -on-disc

tribometer according to ASTM G99-05 standard. The cylindrical-shaped specimens with 40 mm diameter and 4

mm thickness as shown in Figure 3 (a, b) were prepared for the wear test. The samples were placed on the disc

of the tribometer and the pin was rotated against the samples. The specimens and the pins were cleaned with

acetone before and after each run of the wear test to remove trace contaminants . The tests were conducted with

variable loads of 10, 20 and 30 N and variable sliding speeds of 0.5, 0.8 and 1 m/s in order to investigate the

relationship of wear rate with loads and sliding speeds. The specific wear rates were measured by using the

weight loss method. A digital weighing balance with the accuracy of ±0.1 mg was used to measure the weight

loss. Moreover, the coefficient of friction of all the hybrid MMC specimens was measured with a constant load

of 10 N and a constant linear speed of 15 cm/s. After the wear test, the morphology of the worn surface of each

sample was examined by SEM (JOEL model 6390) to analyse the wear mechanisms in the hybrid MMCs .
3. Results and Discussion

3.1 Microstructure and mechanical properties

The optical micrographs of the fabricated hybrid MMCs are illustrated in Fig ure 4. The white area in

the optical micrograph represents the Al matrix and the black spots represent Al2 O3 and Gr reinforcement

particles. It is clearly visible that the reinforcement particles are distributed uniformly in the matrix material in

all the samples. Besides, the bonding between matrix and reinforcements seems perfect and other anomalies

such as pores and cracks are almost absent in the microstructures observed optically. These phenomena noticed

in the optical micrograph indicate an achievement of proper sample fabrication. Previous studies reported that

the uniform dispersion of reinforcement in the matrix surface is one of the key factors to obtain improved

mechanical and tribological properties in the MMCs [13, 20]. Thus, the achieved uniformity of the

reinforcement in the studied hybrid MMC samples may have an impact in obtaining the superior properties.

Further, to investigate micro-level anomalies, SEM analysis was performed in the microstructure and the

micrographs are presented in Figure 5. The SEM micrographs revealed few pores and cracks on the surface of

the fabricated hybrid MMC samples as indicated in the figure. However, the diameters of the pores are very

small, less than 2 µm and the lengths of the microcracks are less than 20 µm in size which is highly

insignificant. Therefore, the microstructural analysis concludes that a uniform reinforcement dispersion and

strong particle-matrix interfacial bonding are achieved in all the hybrid MMC samples during the fabrication

process which can lead to improved mechanical and tribological properties . The results of the different

mechanical tests are presented in Table 2. All the tests have been performed thrice and the average values have

been presented in the article. The Vickers micro-hardness values (HV) obtained in different samples shows that

the sample S2 which contains only Gr reinforcement has the lowest hardness value in comparison to the pure Al

and hybrid composites. It is reported previously that the addition of graphite to the pure Al reduces the hardness

of the composite [13] and the same phenomenon was observed in this study. However, the hardness value

increases once Al2 O3 particles are added to the Al-Gr composite and the value increases proportionally with the

higher percentage of Al2 O3 particles. Among the five samples, the highest hardness value was observed in the

sample S5 which is composed of 20% Al2 O3 particles. This hybrid composite exhibited around 92.5% and 67%

enhancement of hardness as compared to the Al-3%Gr composite and pure Al material respectively. Besides,

another two composite samples S3 and S4, which are fabricated with 10% Al2 O3 and 15% Al2 O3 displayed

around 45% and 60% hardness increment respectively than that of Al+3%Gr composite and 26% and 39%

hardness increment respectively as compared to that of pure Al. Graphite is soft and has a low hardness value of
25.49 HV. Thus, its addition to the pure monolithic Al reduces the overall hardness of the composite. In

contrary, the ceramic Al2 O3 particles are very hard, therefore, its addition to the Al+3%Gr results in increasing

the overall hardness of the hybrid MMC. Besides, tensile stress-strain diagrams of all the fabricated samples are

exhibited in Figure 6 and the ultimate tensile strengths of the samples are shown in Table -2. It is observed that

the composite reinforced with only graphite particles (Al+3%Gr) displayed lower value of tensile strength than

that of the pure matrix material and this behaviour has been explained previously [13]. In this study, tremendous

enhancement of tensile strength was achieved in all the hybrid MMCs once Al 2 O3 particles were added to

Al+3%Gr. Among the three compositions of the hybrid composites, the maximum strength was observed in the

sample S5 (Al+3%Gr+20%Al2 O3 ). This composite exhibited around 25% increase in the tensile strength as

compared to the Al+3%Gr composite and 22% increase in the tensile strength than that of the pure aluminium.

Moreover, hybrid composite samples S3 (Al+3%Gr+10%Al2 O3 ) and S4 (Al+3%Gr+15%Al2 O3 ) demonstrated

around 7% and 13% tensile strength increment respectively than that of the Al+3%Gr composite, and 5% and

11% tensile strength increment respectively as referred to the pure aluminium base material. Therefore, it

becomes very obvious that the inclusion of Al2 O3 particles in the Al+3%Gr composite enhanced the ultimate

tensile strength. This is due to the fact that Al2 O3 and Gr reinforcement particles are very compatible and

produces a good bonding with pure aluminium and also with each other, results in withstanding more load as

compared to pure aluminium. Besides, the flexural strength of all the fabricated samples is presented in Table 2.

It is observed that the flexural strength of hybrid MMCs increased proportionally with the greater percentage of

Al2 O3 and the hybrid MMC composed of 20% Al2 O3 (Al+3%Gr+20%Al2 O3 ) exhibited the highest flexural

strength. This composite demonstrated around 15% increment of flexural strength as compared to the Al-3%Gr

and 12.5% increment of flexural strength than that of the pure aluminium. Besides, the other two hybrid MMC

samples which are fabricated with 10% and 15% Al2 O3 exhibited around 5% and 10.5% increase in flexural

strength respectively in comparison to Al+3%Gr composite and 2% and 7% increment of flexural strength than

that of pure aluminium. This strength increment in the hybrid MMC was occurred due to the addition of hard

Al2 O3 particles which created good bonding with aluminium matrix and graphite and achieved in withstanding

high load as compared to pure Al.

3.2. Wear behaviour

The wear behaviour of all the fabricated samples was tested at room temperature with varying loads

and sliding speeds by using a pin-on-disc tribometer and the wear rates were measured as a function of sliding
load and the sliding speed. Figure 7(a) represents the specific wear rate of the samples with different load s. The

results show that the wear rate of all the samples is proportional to the applied load. Sample S2 (Al+3%Gr)

possessed a specific wear rate of 0.0019 mm3 /N-m at 10N load and the wear rate increased to 0.0045 mm3 /N-m

at the load of 30N. The wear rates of 0.0039 mm3 /N-m and 0.0042 mm3 /N-m were measured in the hybrid

composite samples S4 (Al+3%Gr+15%Al2 O3 ) and S5 (Al+3%Gr+20%Al2 O3 ) respectively at the load of 10N.

These two hybrid composites demonstrate 0.0058 mm3 /N-m and 0.0065 mm3 /N-m wear rates respectively at

30N load. The higher percentage of Al2 O3 reinforcement in these composites exhibited high wear rate as

compared to the Al+3%Gr (S2) composite. The presence of a higher percentage of Al2 O3 develops an elastic-

plastic interaction mismatch between the reinforcement and matrix and increases the possibility of initiation and

propagation of the crack in the hybrid MMC material. Thus, increases the tendency of abrasion wear and

increases the wear rate. In contrary, the hybrid MMC sample S3 which contains Al+3%Gr+10% Al2 O3 exhibited

the lowest wear rate at all the applied load conditions. This hybrid MMC exhibited 80% lower wear rate as

compared to the pure aluminium and 15% lower wear rate than that of the Al+3%Gr composite. The same

tendency of wear rate is also observed in Figure 7(b), where the wear rate was measured in relation to the sliding

speed. The specific wear rate of all the materials was observed proportional to the sliding speed and here also

the sample S3 exhibited the lowest specific wear rate. The graphite particles present in the composite act as a

lubricant and develop a thin lubricating film on the tribosurface which prevents metal to metal contact. Besides,

the Al2 O3 particles act as load-bearing elements in the hybrid MMCs and help to form a more stable lubricating

film on the tribosurface of the hybrid composites. The collective effects of 3% graphite and 10% Al2 O3 particles

form a more resistant tribolayer on the contact surface, thus decreases the wear rate. Besides, the coefficient of

friction of pure Al, Al+3%Gr and the hybrid MMCs with varying Al2 O3 content are shown in Figure 7(c). The

results show that the coefficient of friction in the hybrid MMC increases as the percentage of Al2 O3 particles

increases in the composite. The coefficient of friction of sample S4 and S5 is quite high as compared to that of

S2 (Al+3%Gr). In these two MMCs, large amounts of Al2 O3 particles were included, thus increases the hard

phase of the composite and increases brittleness , resulting in the porosity and cracks on the surface. This

eventually affects the wear properties and increases the frictional coefficient in these MMCs. Besides, it can be

seen in the figure that the lowest coefficient of friction obtained in the hybrid MMC sample S3

(Al+3%Gr+10%Al2 O3 ) which is 0.011. This frictional coefficient value is 85% lower than that of the pure

aluminium and 45% lower than that of the Al+3%Gr (S2) composite. The graphite reinforcement particles form

a smeared film over the contact surface which acts as a solid lubricant and the Al2 O3 particle strengthens and
stables the tribosurface. According to the result, the combination of 3% graphite and 10% Al2 O3 particle forms a

stable tribosurface, thus eventually produces the lowest frictional coefficient in this MMC. To further

investigate the wear mechanism in the hybrid MMC, the worn surfaces of the MMCs were examined by SEM

and the results are presented in Figure 8. The morphologies of the worn surfaces indicate the existence of

abrasion and delamination wear mechanisms in these hybrid composites. Large grooves can be seen along the

sliding direction in all the composites indicates plastic deformation which occurs due to the abrasion. Debris is

also found in many places specifies the delamination mechanism. Besides, pores and cracks are observed in the

hybrid MMC samples S4 and S5. These two composite contains a comparatively higher concentration of Al2 O3

particles which accelerates severe plastic deformation during loading and develops pores and cracks on the

surface. Therefore, the wear rate and friction coefficient increases in these composites. Conversely, in the worn

surface of sample S3 (Figure 8 a, b) which is composed of 3% Gr and 10% Al2 O3 particles, pores and cracks are

not noticed. Debris formed on the surface is also relatively low as compared to sample S4 and S5. Besides, a

smooth graphite lubricating layer is observed on the worn surface of sample S3 which uniformly covers the

entire worn surface of the hybrid composite (Figure 8b). In this case, the smeared graphite particles form a thin

rich tribofilm between sliding surfaces and prevent direct contact between the pin and disc surfaces. This

graphite tribofilm minimizes the degree of shear stress transferred to the sliding material underneath the sliding

contact area which results in less plastic deformation in the subsurface region. The collective effect of 3% Gr

and 10% Al2 O3 particles form a more resistant and stable tribolayer. The graphite film works as a protective

layer and prevents the breaking of hard Al2 O3 particles which results in less surface damage. Therefore, the wear

rate and friction coefficient decrease in these hybrid composites and the overall wear performance improves as

compared to the base material and Al-Gr composite. Hence, from the above results, it can be concluded that the

addition of graphite to the base material significantly improves the wear behaviour of the composite and the

collective effect of 3% Gr and 10% Al2 O3 particles forms a more resistant and stable tribolayer. Therefore, the

hybrid composite, Al+3%Gr+10% Al2 O3 exhibits superior wear properties.

4. Conclusions

The tribo-mechanical characterization of self-lubricating hybrid MMCs was investigated in this

research. The results revealed that the mechanical properties including hardness, tensile strength and flexural

strength are significantly increased in the hybrid MMCs due to the addition of the Al 2 O3 particles. The

tribological properties including the wear rate and coefficient of friction are also remarkably improved. This

improvement of mechanical and tribological properties in the hybrid MMCs is occurred due to the combined
effect of Al2 O3 and graphite reinforcement particles. The Al2 O3 particles strengthen the composite while the

graphite works as a protective layer and prevents the breaking of hard Al 2 O3 particles. Therefore, the hybrid

MMCs possesses superior strength and superior wear resistance. Among the three compositions of hybrid

MMCs have experimented in this research, sample S3 composed of Al+3%Gr+10% Al 2 O3 exhibited high

mechanical properties as compared to the base materials as well as superior wear properties than that of all other

fabricated MMCs. The collective effect of 3% Gr and 10% Al2 O3 particles strengthen the mechanical properties

as well as form a more resistant and stable tribolayer as compared to other materials. Therefore, this

composition (Al+3%Gr+10%Al2 O3 ) of hybrid MMC can be considered as the optimum value to obtain the best

tribo-mechanical performance among other compositions of the MMCs used in the experiment.

Declaration of interests

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships
that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgement

The authors gratefully acknowledge Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) for providing financial support under

project no RDU 190329 during this research work.

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Figure Captions:

Figure 1. SEM images of (a) (b) Al powder, (c) (d) Al2 O3 powder, (e) (f) Gr powder (g) (h) Al+15%Al2 O3 +3%

Gr powder mixture.
Figure 2. XRD pattern of (a) Al powder (b) Gr powder (c) Al2 O3 powder (d) Al+15%Al2 O3 +3% Gr powder

mixture.

Figure 3. Schematic diagram and photograph of sintered (a) (b) Cylindrical specimen (c) (d) Tensile specimen
Figure 4. Optical micrograph of (a) (b) Al+3%Gr+10%Al2 O3 , (c) (d) Al+3%Gr+15%Al2 O3 and (e) (f)

Al+3%Gr+20%Al2 O3

Figure 5. SEM micrograph of (a) Al+3%Gr+10%A l2 O3 , (b) Al+3%Gr+15%A l2 O3 and (c) Al+3%Gr+20%Al2 O3
Figure 6. Stress-strain diagram of pure Al, Al+3%Gr and hybrid MMCs with different wt% of Al2 O3

Figure 7. (a) Variation of wear rate with varying applied load, (b) Variation of wear rate with varying sliding

speed, (c) Coefficient of friction with varying reinforcement content

Figure 8. SEM micrograph of worn surface of (a) (b) Al+3%Gr+10%Al2 O3 , (c) (d) Al+3%Gr+15%Al2 O3 and

(e) (f) Al+3%Gr+20%A l2 O3

Table Captions:

Table 1. Composition of Al, Al 2 O 3 and Gr for different hybrid MMC samples

Sample % of Al % of Gr % of Al 2 O3

S1 100 0 0

S2 97 3 0

S3 87 3 10

S4 82 3 15

S5 77 3 20

Table 2. Mechanical properties of pure Al, Al+3%Gr and hybrid MMCs with different wt% of Al 2 O3

Sample Vickers Tensile % of Flexural

microhardness strength (MPa) elongation strength
(HV) (MPa)

S1 46 148 9.2 176

S2 40 144.6 7.8 171

S3 58 155.5 3.4 180

S4 64 164.4 2.6 189

S5 77 181 1.8 198