Abstract
Hardness, and sliding friction and wear properties of composite materials composed of aluminum, aluminum borate whisker and solid lubricant such as boron nitride or graphite, were investigated. The hardness of aluminum/aluminum borate whisker composite materials decreases with the amount of either boron nitride (particle size:-500 mesh) or graphite (100-325 mesh). The addition of boron nitride deteriorates the wear property of the composite materials. The addition of graphite greater than 20vol% in content, however, not only decreases the coefficient of friction but improves wear property markedly, while graphite of the contents less than 20 vol% has no influence on the coefficient of friction and rather causes poor wear property. The role of graphite in improving friction and wear properties is clarified by the EPMA analyses of sliding surfaces.
