Influence of different sintering techniques on the wear properties of Al-15Si-2.5Cu-0.5Mg/B4C composites

In this study, the influences of different sintering techniques and B4C particle addition on microstructural properties, density, hardness and abrasive wear were investigated. The wear experiments were carried out in accordance with ASTM standard G99 using a pin-on-disk apparatus under dry test conditions. Compact samples produced with conventional and microwave sintering gave density and hardness values close to each other. In compacts produced with the spark plasma sintering technique, the porosity rate is the lowest, and the hardness is the highest. In samples produced with different sintering techniques, the addition of B4C particles caused an increase in porosity and decreased density and hardness. The lowest wear resistance in all samples was determined in samples produced by conventional sintering. The lowest volume loss, that is, the highest wear resistance, was obtained in the samples produced with spark plasma sintering. In general, adding B4C negatively affected the wear performance in all samples.