Study of Tribological Properties of Microwave-Sintered CuNi-Al2O3 Nanocomposites

The work evaluates the effect of Al2O3 nanopowder addition on microstructure and tribological properties of CuNi-Al2O3 nanocomposites. The elemental powders of Ni and Cu contains 0, 5 and 10 vol. % of Al2O3 nanopowder were mixed in a high-energy ball mill. Phase transformation of the alloyed powders obtained was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Mechanically alloyed powders compacted under cold pressure at 350 MPa and were sintered in microwave furnaces (2.45 GHz). The microstructural analysis of the cross section of the sintered samples was made using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The sintered sample show fully dense microstructure without any radial cracks. Tribological properties of sintered nanocomposites were evaluated by ball-on-disk wear test. Increasing the Al2O3 content in the nanocomposite decreased the wear rate and coefficient of friction. These results showed that the addition of Al2O3 nanopowder in the CuNi matrix caused improves its wear behavior.

Keywords:

Microwave sintering , Nanocomposite , Wear , Nanoparticle