Abstract
There is an increasing need to extend the application of aluminum alloys in mechanical elements. However, the tribological properties of aluminum alloys are generally inferior compared with conventional tribo-materials. Plasma spraying method is one of surface modification technology, which is possible to synthesize the thick coatings enough to bear sliding wear of engineering applications. A series of hyper-eutectic aluminum-silicon alloys has been synthesized with different percentage of silicon ranging from 16wt% to 50wt% by a low pressure plasma spraying method. The friction and wear of Al-Si based films have been studied using a reciprocating sliding under the lubricated condition. The hyper-eutectic Al-Si alloys (Al-40wt%Si-5wt%Cu-1wt%Mg) showed the lowest wear in the Al-Si films, however, the wear rate was not enough for the industrial applications. In order to improve the tribological properties, two tentative approach : heat treatment and whisker reinforcement, have been examined independently. The hardness and wear resistance have been improved significantly by both methods.
