Fretting wear behavior of controlled ball impact treated aluminium alloy under dry sliding condition

► Ball impact peening imparts compressive residual stress with nanograin structure. ► Ball impact peened aluminium samples showed improved fretting wear resistance. ► Compressive residual stress delays crack initiation and retards crack propagation. ► At low applied normal loads complex adhesion and oxidation wear mechanism are observed. ► Abrasion wear mechanism is predominant at high applied normal loads.