Improving tribological behavior of friction stir processed A413/SiCp surface composite using MoS2 lubricant particles

The effect of MoS2 lubricant particles on the microstructure, microhardness and tribological behavior of A413/SiCp surface composite, fabricated via friction stir processing (FSP), was studied. For this purpose, the FSP was carried out with tool rotational speed of 1600 r/min, tool travel speed of 25 mm/min and tool tilt angle of 3° through only a “single pass”. The optical and scanning electron microscopies, microhardness and reciprocating wear tests were used to characterize the samples. The results showed that the addition of MoS2 lubricant particles to A413/SiCp surface composite leads to the decrease of friction coefficient and mass loss. In fact, the generation of mechanically mixed layer (MML) containing MoS2 lubricant particles in A413/SiCp/MoS2p surface hybrid composite results in the reduction of metal-to-metal contact and subsequently leads to the improvement of tribological behavior.