Study of tribological properties on Al/Al2O3/MoS2 hybrid composite processed by powder metallurgy

Aluminium ceramic composites with improved mechanical and chemical properties are essential and needed in aerospace and automotive application. The aluminium matrix composite reinforced with ceramic material of alumina (Al2O3) has good tribological properties. However, aluminium based ceramic composites require improvements in their lubrication properties. In this study an attempt is made in the development of a new material through powder metallurgy technique by the addition of molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), which acts as a solid lubricant. This molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) based solid lubricant has unique advantage that it can be used in vacuum space, but the same is not applicable in case of graphite. The microstructures, material combination, wear and friction properties were analysed by scanning electron microscopy, EDX, and pin-on-disc wear tester. The newly developed aluminium composite has significant improvements in tribological properties with a combination of 5% alumina (Al2O3) and 5% molybdenum disulphide (MoS2). The test reveals that sliding distance of 1000 m and sliding speed of 1.5 m/s with applied load of 5 N result in minimum wear loss of 0.0102 g and coefficient of friction as 0.117.