Effects of Hardness of Particulate Inclusions Dispersed in Aluminum Alloy Bearings

Abstract

Hard particulate inclusions can improve the seizure resistance of aluminum alloy bearings through a mild lapping action, when used with nodular cast iron shafts. In the present paper, the effects of hardness of the particulate inclusions are studied. A mixed lubrication tester is used to evaluate friction and wear properties of four alloys with inclusions of varying hardness. The wear amount is least and low friction appears at the earliest stage with hard Si particles. while softer inclusions show larger amounts of wear as well as prolonged periods of initially higher friction.