Effects of pressure and sliding speed on the friction and wear properties of Al–40Zn–3Cu–2Si alloy: A comparative study with SAE 65 bronze

In this work, the friction and wear properties of Al–40Zn–3Cu–2Si alloy and SAE 65 bronze were investigated under identical test conditions using a conforming block-on-disc type machine. The results obtained from both alloys were compared.Friction coefficient of both Al–40Zn–3Cu–2Si alloy and SAE 65 bronze decreased with increasing pressure, but it showed a reverse trend for Al–40Zn–3Cu–2Si above 6 MPa. The temperature and volume loss of the Al-based alloy and the bronze increased with increasing pressure. The friction coefficient of the alloys tended to decrease with increasing sliding speed, but their temperature increased continuously with it. However, the volume loss of the samples increased with sliding speed after showing an initial decrease. Smearing and scratches were observed to be the main characteristics of the wear surfaces of the Al-based alloy and the bronze. The area of smeared material on the wear surfaces increased with increasing pressure and sliding speed. However, more scratches were observed on the wear surface of the bronze. The wear resistance of Al–40Zn–3Cu–2Si alloy was found to be significantly higher than that of SAE 65 bronze in all test conditions.