Effect of graphite and granite dust particulates as micro-fillers on tribological performance of Al 6061-T6 hybrid composites

• Composites of graphite and granite dust with Al 6061 were synthesised by stir casting.
• Precipitation hardening imparted at 180 °C for 4–5 h to achieve peak hardness.
• Mechanical tests, two-body sliding wear tests, microstructure studies conducted.
• Hybrids showed better tensile strength, Peak hardness and wear resistance.
• Granite dust successfully behaves as ceramic filler.

Aluminium and its alloys have an ever growing demand in many industries such as aerospace, automotive due to their high strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance. Our current work focuses on synthesis and tribological studies of precipitation hardened Al 6061–Grp–granite dust hybrid composites. Liquid stir casting technique is used for synthesis, precipitation hardening treatment imparted for maximising the hardness before subjecting to two-body sliding wear tests. The variation of wear for different levels of load, speed and composition along with SEM micrographs of the worn surfaces has been investigated. Hybrid combinations of granite dust (2 wt% and 4 wt%) with graphite (2 wt%) show higher tensile strength, hardness and significantly improved wear resistance as compared to the base alloy.

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