Influence of calcium hexaboride reinforced magnesium composite for the mechanical and tribological behviour

•The CaB6 reinforced Mg-MMCs have been demonstrated for the mechanical and tribological behaviours.•The prescence of CaB6 in Mg-MMC, the matrix grain size reduced.•Mechanical and tribological property have been improved by the effect of CaB6 in Mg-MMC.•The delamination is a dominant wear mechanism among the others.

The effect of calcium hexaboride (CaB6) reinforced magnesium metal matrix composite (Mg-MMC) for mechanical and tribological behavior have been investigated. Fabrication of the Mg-MMC was done by the squeeze casting process using the bottom pouring stir casting furnace. Mechanical properties such as tensile strength and hardness of the composites were analyzed. The dry sliding wear behavior of the pure Mg and the composites was evaluated in the pin-on-disk tribo-meter using SAE52100 bearing steel disk at room temperature. Improvement in the mechanical property was found in CaB6 reinforced Mg-MMC as compared with pure Mg. A significant fact was that, addition of CaB6 enhanced the wear resistance of Mg-MMC, revealing the delamination wear mechanism is dominant from other wear mechanisms.