Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939

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Wear
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wear

Friction and wear behaviour of cast Al 6063 based in situ metal matrix
composites
C.S. Ramesh ∗ , Abrar Ahamed
Department of Mechanical Engineering, PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India

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

Article history: Al 6063 based in situ composites were manufactured from Al–10%Ti and Al–3%B master alloys by liquid
Received 1 September 2010 metallurgy route. The in situ TiB2 reinforced Al 6063 composites were synthesized through the exother-
Received in revised form mic reaction between Al–10%Ti and Al–3%B master alloys, which were used in the ratio of 1:2 respectively
23 December 2010
in Al 6063 matrix alloy. Tribological properties of both Al 6063 matrix alloy and the developed in situ
Accepted 23 December 2010
composites have been evaluated. Dry sliding friction and wear tests were carried out using a pin on
disc type machine with steel counter disc hardened to HRC60. A load range of 10–50 N with the sliding
velocity varying from 0.209 m/s to 1.256 m/s were adopted. Results have revealed that the developed
Keywords:
In situ composite
in situ composites have lowered coefficient of friction and wear rates when compared with Al 6063
Al 6063 matrix alloy under all the test conditions studied. The excellent wear resistance of the in situ composites
TiB2 results from the formation of fine TiB2 particles uniformly dispersed within the Al 6063 matrix alloy.
The coefficient of friction of both matrix alloy and in situ composites decreased with increase in load,
whereas it increased with increase in sliding velocity. However, wear rates of both matrix alloy and in situ
composites increased with increase in both load and sliding velocity.
© 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction react with aluminium thereby eliminating any reaction products

Aluminium alloys are the most widely used non ferrous materi-
als in engineering applications owing to their attractive properties
such as high strength to weight ratio, good ductility, excel-
lent corrosion resistance, availability and low cost [1]. However,
their applications have often been restricted because conventional
aluminium alloys are soft and notorious for their poor wear resis-
tance. This problem is over by reinforcing hard ceramic particles
in aluminium and its alloys to produce a discontinuous rein-
forced metal matrix composite which possesses nearly isotropic
properties.
In addition, these composites exhibit high stiffness coupled
with superior strength. This suite of properties makes the par-
ticle reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) attractive to a
wide range of applications in automotive, aerospace and transport
industries. Commonly used reinforcement particles in developing
MMCs include carbides, nitrides, borides and oxides [2]. Among
these ceramics, TiB2 has emerged as a promising reinforcement
as it possesses high melting point, elastic modulus, hardness and
strength at elevated temperatures coupled with good thermal con-
ductivity and excellent wear resistance [3,4]. Further, it does not
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 80 26721983; fax: +91 80 26720886.
E-mail address: csr gce@yahoo.co.in (C.S. Ramesh).
at the interface between the reinforcement and the matrix [5].
Conventional practice of developing aluminium based com-
posites reinforced with hard ceramic particles involves ex situ
technique. This ex situ technique involves addition of rein-
forcement particles into the molten matrix alloy using liquid
metallurgical route, which could lead to segregation of reinforce-
ment particles and poor adhesion at the interface, unless there
exists good wettability between the matrix and particles or suitably
modified [6,7].
Recently, in situ technique has been developed to fabri-
cate metal matrix composites (MMCs), which exhibits a clean
matrix/reinforcement interface, which leads to better improve-
ment in mechanical properties of the composites [8]. In in situ
process, ultra fine ceramic particles are formed by the exother-
mic reaction between the elements or their compounds with
molten matrix alloy. These in situ routes provide advantages
such as uniform distribution of reinforcement, finer particle size,
clean interface, thermodynamically stable reinforcement phase
and process economy in comparison with the conventional ex
situ processes. These advantages will lead to better and improved
mechanical and tribological properties of the in situ composites
when compared with the matrix alloy [9]. By adopting in situ
techniques, MMCs with a wide range of matrix materials and sec-
ond phase particles can be produced [10–13]. However, meagre
information is available as regards the development of alu-

0043-1648/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wear.2010.12.048
 C.S. Ramesh, A. Ahamed / Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939 1929

Fig. 1. SEM micrograph of Al 6063 alloy and the developed in situ composites. (a) Al 6063 alloy, (b) Al 6063–2.8 wt%TiB2 and (c) Al 6063–10 wt%TiB2 .

minium based in situ composites by use of master alloys Table 1

Percentage weight of TiB2 in the in situ formed composites.
[14].
In the light of the above, this paper reports on the friction and Al 6063–10 Al 6063–15 Al 6063–20
wear behaviour of Al 6063–TiB2 in situ composites produced by use wt%Al–10%Ti + 5 wt%Al–10%Ti + 7.5 wt%Al–10%Ti + 10
wt%Al–3%B wt%Al–3%B wt%Al–3%B
of master alloys.
2.8 10 6.7
2. Experimental details

Commercially available Al 6063 matrix alloy and the master
alloys of Al–10%Ti and Al–3%B are melted in an electric resistance
furnace with a stoichiometric Ti:B ratio of 2:1. The proportion of
Al–10%Ti was varied from 10 wt% to 20 wt% in steps of 5 with
the stoichiometric weight ratio being intact. Detailed procedure
of preparation of the Al 6063 based in situ composites along with
quantitative analysis of in situ phases of TiB2 and TiAl3 are reported
in our earlier work [14]. A maximum amount of 10 wt%TiB2 was
produced in situ within the matrix alloy on use of 15 wt%Al–10%Ti
and 7.5 wt%Al–3%B master alloys as reported in Table 1.
SEM studies were conducted using JEOL scanning electron
microscope. Microhardness tests were conducted on the polished
samples by applying a load of 100 g for a period of 10 s using Vick-
ers microhardness tester. The test was carried out at five different

Fig. 2. Variation of coefficient of friction with sliding distance. Fig. 3. Variation of coefficient of friction with load.
1930 C.S. Ramesh, A. Ahamed / Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939
Fig. 4. Variation of coefficient of friction with sliding velocity.
locations in order to contradict the possible effect of indentor rest-
ing on the harder reinforcement particles. The average of all the
five readings was taken as hardness of the samples.
Dry sliding friction and wear tests were performed using pin
on disc apparatus, (Make: Magnum Engineers, Bangalore) as per
ASTM G99-95. Cylindrical specimens (both matrix alloy and in situ
composites) of 8 mm diameter and 20 mm height were used as test
samples. The specimen end surfaces were flat and polished met-
allurgically. Counter disc used is a hardened HRC60 steel disc. The
initial surface finish of the steel disc is 1 ␮m. Track radius of 40 mm
has been used for all the experiments. All the tests were conducted
in air at room temperature. Test duration of 30 min was adopted for
Fig. 5. SEM of wear tracks of Al 6063 alloy and the developed in situ composites at a load of 10 N and sliding velocity of 0.209 m/s.
all the tests. The loads and sliding velocities were varied from 10 N
to 50 N and 0.209 m/s to 1.256 m/s respectively. Frictional force was
measured using load cell of accuracy 0.1 N, while the wear loss in
terms of height loss was measured using linear variable differential
transducer (LVDT) of accuracy 1 ␮m. The coefficient of friction was
calculated using frictional and normal load data. The wear rates
were calculated from the height loss data in terms of volumetric
wear loss per unit sliding distance.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. SEM studies
SEM micrograph of both the base alloy and developed in situ Al
6063–TiB2 composites are shown in Fig. 1. It is observed that the
in situ synthesized TiB2 particles in the matrix are cubic and spher-
ical in form. The size of TiB2 particles ranged from 0.2 ␮m to 2 ␮m,
which is much lower than that of ex situ particles in discontinu-
ously reinforced composites. Further, there is homogeneity in the
distribution of in situ TiB2 particles within the matrix alloy with a
clear matrix-reinforcement interface.
3.2. Microhardness
Microhardness of the matrix alloy and the developed in situ
composites are reported in Table 2. It is observed that there is
significant improvement in the microhardness of the developed
in situ composites with increased content of TiB2 . An improve-
 C.S. Ramesh, A. Ahamed / Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939 1931

Fig. 6. EDAX on wear tracks of Fig. 5.

Table 2
Microhardness and tribological properties.

Al 6063 alloy Al 6063–2.8 wt%TiB2 Al 6063–6.7 wt%TiB2 Al 6063–10 wt%TiB2

Microhardness (VHN) 46.56 51.79 56.39 59.25

Coefficient of friction (␮) 0.97 0.8 0.75 0.5
Wear rate (mm3 /m) 0.02204 0.0178 0.01376 0.01175
1932 C.S. Ramesh, A. Ahamed / Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939
Fig. 7. SEM of wear debris of Al 6063 alloy and the developed in situ composites at load of 10 N and sliding velocity of 0.209 m/s.
ment in microhardness of about 11.23%, 21.11% and 27.25% for Al
6063–2.8 wt%TiB2 , Al 6063–6.7 wt%TiB2 and Al 6063–10 wt%TiB2
composites respectively when compared with Al 6063 alloy have
been observed. Further, there is no much variation in microhard-
ness in between Al 6063–6.7 wt%TiB2 and Al 6063–10 wt%TiB2 .
3.3. Coefficient of friction
Coefficient of friction values of Al 6063 alloy and the developed
in situ composites are given in Table 2. It is observed that there is
a significant decrease in the coefficient of friction of in situ com-
posites with increase content of TiB2 . A reduction of 17.52%, 22%,
and 48.45% in the coefficient of friction is observed for compos-
ites containing 2.8 wt%, 6.7 wt% and 10 wt% TiB2 respectively when
compared with the matrix alloy. Similar trend has been reported
by Kumar et al. [9]. This can be mainly attributed to the excellent
lubricating properties of TiB2 as it possesses a layered structure.
Further, it can be also due to smaller particle size [15,16], improved
dispersion as evidenced in Fig. 1. It is reported that good dispersion
and clean interface of the particle in matrix leads to a lower value of
coefficient of friction of composites [17]. The superior antifrictional
behaviour of the in situ composites can also be due to the fact that
in situ TiB2 particles which are homogeneously distributed do play
the role of load bearer during the sliding process. It is reported that
the reinforced particles do act as load bearing members [18,19],
and hence friction should have mainly occurred between TiB2 and
steel disc surface.
Fig. 2 shows the effect of sliding distance on coefficient of friction
of Al 6063 alloy and its in situ composites. It is observed that with an
increase in sliding distance, there is uniform and marginal increase
in coefficient of friction for both the matrix alloy and the in situ
composites. This increase in coefficient of friction with increase in
sliding distance can be attributed to rise in temperature of rubbing
surfaces which leads to higher frictional force. Similar trends have
been observed by other researchers also [20]. However, for all slid-
ing distances studied the coefficient of friction of in situ composites
decreases with increased content of TiB2 .
Fig. 3 shows the effect of normal load on the coefficient of fric-
tion of Al 6063 matrix alloy and the developed in situ composites.
It is observed that with an increase in load, there is a decrease
in coefficient of friction of both the matrix alloy and the devel-
oped in situ composites. However, the developed in situ composites
shows lower coefficient of friction values when compared with
matrix alloy under all the loads studied. It is also observed that there
is a gradual decrease in coefficient of friction for both the matrix
alloy and in situ composites up to 30 N of load and no significant
variation of coefficient of friction is observed beyond 30 N, which is
due to the presence of secondary phases such as Si in matrix alloy,
Si and TiB2 in the composites which restricts the flow of metal dur-
ing sliding [9]. Further, fragments of softened debris generated at
higher loads may provide some degree of solid lubrication leading
to reduction in coefficient of friction at higher loads [21]. In case
of composites, increased load leads to higher extent of transfer of
TiB2 onto both the mating and sliding surfaces. Larger the trans-
fer, better will be the lubrication at the sliding interface. Further,
since TiB2 is produced by in situ reaction, it can accommodate larger
loads with less plastic elongation owing to good bond between the
matrix and the reinforcement. This improved load bearing capacity
of the in situ composites is primarily responsible for its excellent
antifrictional behaviour especially at higher loads.
Fig. 4 shows the effect of sliding velocity on coefficient of friction
of Al 6063 alloy and its in situ composites. It is observed that, with
 C.S. Ramesh, A. Ahamed / Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939 1933

Fig. 8. EDAX on wear debris of Al 6063 alloy and the developed in situ composites at a load of 10 N and sliding velocity of 0.209 m/s.

increase in sliding velocity, there is increase in coefficient of fric-
tion for both the matrix alloy and the in situ composites. This can
be attributed to the fact that with an increase in sliding velocity
there is an increase in frictional force. The increase in coefficient
of friction with increased sliding velocity can also be attributed
to the fact that the brittle particulate reinforcements in the com-
posites get cracked and are squeezed out onto the matrix surfaces
forming a thin adherent solid lubricating film resulting in lower-
ing of coefficient of friction. This phenomenon proceeds at a faster
rate with increased sliding velocities. However, at higher sliding
velocity the existing solid lubricating film gets thickened and may
fragment. Thicker the solid film, the fragmented solid film gets
clogged between the rubbing surfaces resulting in higher friction.
Also at higher velocities temperature of mating surfaces [22] leads
1934 C.S. Ramesh, A. Ahamed / Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939
Fig. 9. Variation of wear rate with sliding distance for both the matrix alloy and the
developed in situ composites.
to more asperity junctions as a consequence of which the coefficient
of friction increases.
3.4. Wear studies
Effect of reinforcement on wear rates of Al 6063 matrix alloy
and the developed in situ composites is as reported in Table 2. It is
observed that the in situ composites possess lower wear rates than
that of the base alloy. A reduction of 19.23%, 37.56% and 46.68%
in wear rates of 2.8 wt%, 6.7 wt% and 10 wt% reinforced TiB2 com-
posites respectively when compared with Al 6063 matrix alloy are
noticed. This considerable improvement in wear resistance of the
in situ composites can be attributed to the following factors:
• The microhardness of in situ composite increases with increase in
the amount of TiB2 reinforcement. Increasing hardness reduces
the wear intensity. It is reported that severe adhesive wear
depends on material hardness [23]. Further, there is experimen-
tal support and practical evidence [24] to suggest that the onset
of adhesive process, such as scuffing and seizure are retarded by
increasing hardness of the mating metals.
• Existence of excellent bond between the matrix and the particles
as evidenced by SEM of the in situ composites shown in Fig. 1. The
interfacial bond between the matrix and the particle reinforce-
ment play a significant role in the wear process [25]. Presence
of good bond minimizes the possibility of decohesion or pull out
of reinforced phase from the matrix alloy there by limiting the
situation of three body abrasive wear, which otherwise would
have resulted in higher material removal as reported by several
researchers [26].
• There exists a formation of inhomogeneous transfer layer, which
may consist of a mixture of iron debris, aluminium matrix and
fragments of second phases on the sliding surface under steady
state wear as evidenced from EDAX studies. This kind of for-
Fig. 10. Variation of wear rate with load for both the matrix alloy and the developed
in situ composites.
mation of transfer layers have been observed by several other
researchers especially in case of aluminium based composites
sliding on steel [18,27,28].
Fig. 5 shows the SEM photographs of worn surfaces of Al 6063
matrix alloy and its in situ composites. It is observed that the mor-
phology of worn surfaces of composites is different from that of the
matrix alloy. The matrix alloy shows wider and shallow grooves
on the surface, whereas fine grooves are noticed in case of the
developed in situ composites. This observation supports the lower
wear rates of the composites when compared with Al 6063 matrix
alloy. Worn surfaces also show the presence of some agglomerated
wear debris which is oriented in the direction of sliding. Further,
these debris are mixture of matrix material, steel counterface and it
includes fractured TiB2 particles in case of the in situ composites as
evidenced in Fig. 6. Apparently, the worn surfaces are characterized
by long continuous grooves, which form as the counter body plough
across the surface and eventually removing or pushing material
into ridges along sides of the grooves. The surface morphology of
the worn surface is similar to that observed in the early stage of the
preparation of metallographic specimens in case of the in situ com-
posites. And, the severity of microploughing is substantially less
pronounced on the worn surface of composites. It is considered that
the counter body (HRC60 steel disc) deforms the alloy matrix of the
specimens during the early stages of wear and causes microplough-
ing and grooving in the surface of aluminium matrix. Subsequently,
material chips are removed from the grooves formed in the surface,
thereby exposing the hard reinforcing particles. Since, the hardness
of counter body is lower than TiB2 particles so, microploughing
is dominant wear mechanism in case of the composites. It is evi-
dent from the worn surfaces that the composites with higher TiB2
content provides better wear protection or resistance.
Energy dispersion X-ray analysis pattern of worn surfaces of
Al 6063 and the developed in situ composites are shown in
Fig. 6. It is observed that the extent of iron on the worn sur-
faces is more on the in situ composite samples which indicates
a lower wear rate of the composites. It is reported [19] that
the transferred iron layer may get oxidized due to increased
localized heating under the oxidizing atmosphere leading to low-
ering of material transfer. Further, once the transferred layer is
established on the composites the steel counter face can be con-
sidered to be mainly in contact with mixture of iron and its oxide.
These mechanically mixed layers are expected to provide in situ
lubricating effect leading to higher wear resistance of the compos-
ites.
Fig. 7 shows the SEM micrographs of wear debris of Al 6063
alloy and the developed in situ composites. The investigation of
collected debris from base alloy samples generated under dry con-
tacts revealed large, irregular profiles and unequal dimensions. The
generation of this kind of debris can be attributed to an abrasive
micro-cutting effect. However, the wear debris of Al 6063–TiB2
composites are smaller which can be attributed to decrease in the
severity of micro-cutting process during sliding contacts due to the
enhanced hardness of the composites with increased content of
TiB2 .
Fig. 8 shows the EDAX analysis performed on the wear debris
of both unreinforced alloy and composites. It is observed that,
extent of iron transfer is relatively high in composite than the alloy
under identical test conditions. This might be due to the fact that,
presence of TiB2 particles in composite materials increases the pos-
sibility of abrasive action by ploughing into the steel counterface
and increases the material transfer.
Fig. 9 shows the effect of sliding distance on wear rate of both
Al 6063 alloy and the in situ composites. It is observed that with
increase in sliding distance there is gradual increase in wear rate of
both matrix alloy and the developed in situ composites. A steady
 C.S. Ramesh, A. Ahamed / Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939 1935

Fig. 11. SEM of wear tracks of Al 6063–10 wt%TiB2 at different loads and sliding velocity of 0.209 m/s.

state is reached beyond 628.31 m. This increase in wear rate with
increase in sliding distance is due to the more intimate contact
between the sliding surfaces of the specimen and the rotating disc
with elapse of time. The increase in wear rate with sliding dis-
tance can also be attributed to the fact that with increase in sliding
distance the temperature at the specimen disc interface increases
and hence the material gets softened and tends to get into plastic
state. Similar trends have been observed by many other researchers
[29,30].
However, at all slid distances studied, the developed in situ com-
posites do possess lower wear rates when compared with matrix
alloy.
The influence of applied normal load on the wear rates of Al 6063
alloy and the in situ composites are shown in Fig. 10. It is observed
that with increase in applied normal load, there is increase in wear
rate of both the matrix alloy and the in situ composites. However,
at all the loads studied in situ composites possessed lower wear
rates when compared with the matrix alloy.
Increase in wear rate with increased load in both matrix alloy
and the in situ composites can be attributed to higher extent of plas-
tic deformation. Greater the extent of plastic deformation higher
will be the possibility of sub surface cracking which leads to larger
material removal [31]. Further, increased load will result in onset
delamination leading to higher wear rates for both the matrix alloy
and the composites.
Fig. 11 shows the SEM micrographs of worn surfaces of Al
6063–10 wt%TiB2 in situ composite at different loads. The micro-
graphs clearly indicate that the material have been removed by
1936 C.S. Ramesh, A. Ahamed / Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939

Fig. 12. SEM of wear debris of Al 6063–10 wt%TiB2 for different loading conditions at sliding velocity of 0.209 m/s.

Fig. 13. Variation of wear rate with sliding velocity for both the matrix alloy and
the developed in situ composites.
plastic flow in all the cases. It is observed that the severity of plas-
tic deformation is increasing with increase in load. As the load
increases, the morphology of the worn surface gradually changes
from fine scratches to distinct grooves. Further, damaged spots
in the form of craters can also be observed. At lower loads, the
composite specimens show a mixed abrasion-plastic deforma-
tion mechanism. Abrasion is evident from the scoring grooves
visible on the worn surfaces in the direction of sliding. It is pos-
sible that the scored grooves might have been formed due to the
action of the wear-hardened deposits on the disk track. But at
higher loads the locally damaged and even fractured spots are
observed. These are the indications of severe deformation and
fracture resulting in a high wear rate. Under high loads, the protec-
tive layer of the reinforcing particles can no longer remain stable
 C.S. Ramesh, A. Ahamed / Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939 1937

Fig. 14. SEM of wear tracks of Al 6063–10 wt%TiB2 for different sliding velocities at a load of 10 N.

under the ploughing action and the wear strips formed are more
distinct.
Fig. 12 shows the SEM micrographs of wear debris of Al
6063–10 wt%TiB2 in situ composite at loads varying from 10 N to
50 N. It is observed that with increase in load, there is a gradual
increase in the size of the wear debris collected, which explains the
higher rate of wear with increase in load. This is well supported by
the wear rate results as discussed earlier. It is also observed that
at higher loads the debris is mixture of fine and coarse sized par-
ticles. This is because of break down of large sized particles due to
increased interaction during sliding. Further, it is reported that [29],
at higher loads, since the severity of surface contact is very high,
the stresses exceeds the fracture stress of the reinforced particles,
leading to fracture of the reinforced phase.
The effect of sliding velocity on wear rate of Al 6063 alloy and
the in situ composites is shown in Fig. 13. It is clearly observed that
with increase in sliding velocity, there is increase in wear rate of
both matrix alloy and the developed in situ composites. This can be
attributed to high strain rate subsurface deformation as reported
by [32]. The increased rate of subsurface deformation increases the
contact areas by fracture and fragmentation of asperities leading to
enhanced delamination contributing to higher wear loss. However,
the in situ composites possesses lower wear rates when compared
with the matrix alloy for all the sliding velocities studied.
Fig. 14 shows the SEM photographs of worn surfaces of Al
6063–10 wt%TiB2 composite with varying sliding velocities. It is
observed that with increase in sliding velocity there is an increase in
severity of the damage to the worn surfaces. The worn surface with
1938 C.S. Ramesh, A. Ahamed / Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939

Fig. 15. SEM of wear debris of Al 6063–10 wt%TiB2 in situ composite at different sliding velocities at a load of 10 N.

highest sliding velocity of 1.256 m/s has experienced severe groov-
ing and plastic flow. It is reported that while sliding a protective
layer is formed on the surface of the worn surfaces. At lower slid-
ing velocities, this protective layer is found to be stable and protects
the material by acting as solid lubricant, whereas at higher sliding
velocities it becomes unstable and is easily removed by delam-
ination. Such delaminated layers get entrapped between sliding
surfaces resulting in three body abrasive wear. Thus, delaminat-
ing and abrasive wear together causes excessive wear at higher
velocities.
Fig. 15 shows the SEM micrographs of wear debris of Al
6063–10 wt%TiB2 in situ composite collected at different sliding
velocities. It is observed that with increase in sliding velocity there
is an increase in size of the debris particle collected, which explains
the severity of wear rate. It is also observed that at lower slid-
ing velocities, the wear debris are finer and granular in structure,
while at higher sliding velocities, the wear debris are larger in size
and flaky in shape. This supports the kind of wear mechanism that
occurs with increase in sliding velocity and as discussed earlier and
well supported by the wear tracks of the same composite shown in
Fig. 14.
4. Conclusions
In situ 6063/TiB2 composites were successfully prepared via
chemical reaction between Al–10%Ti and Al–3%B master alloys in
Al 6063 matrix alloy using liquid metallurgy route. A significant
decrease in coefficient of friction and wear rates with increase
in TiB2 content in the in situ composites has been observed. A
maximum reduction of 48.45% and 46.68% in coefficient of fric-
tion and wear rates respectively for composites containing 10 wt%
TiB2 when compared to the matrix alloy have been observed. For
a maximum load of 50 N 31% and 32.1% reduction in coefficient of
friction and wear rates respectively were observed for 10 wt% TiB2
 C.S. Ramesh, A. Ahamed / Wear 271 (2011) 1928–1939
reinforced composites when compared with the matrix alloy. For
a maximum sliding velocity of 1.256 m/m 36.9% and 50% reduction
in coefficient of friction and wear rates respectively were observed
for 10 wt% TiB2 reinforced composites when compared with the
matrix alloy.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their deep sense of gratitude
to Dr. K.N.B. Murthy Principal and Director, PESIT, Bangalore and
Prof. D. Jawahar, CEO, PES Group of Institutions.
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