Wear resistance of dilute Zn–Al alloys

The wear resistance of Zn–Al alloys is determined in pin-on-ring wear tests, as a function of type of structure of the as-cast alloys. Three regions were observed; columnar, equiaxed and columnar-to-equiaxed grain transition. The results show that the equiaxed structure is the most resistant. In addition, the relation between wear rate and grain size depends on type of structure and it is more pronounced for the equiaxed structure. The effect is almost negligible for the columnar grain structure.