Effect of Aging Parameters on Wear Behaviour of AlSi8Cu3Fe Aluminium Alloy
Ebru Baser Alper Incesu Sedef Şişmanoğlu Ali Gungor
AbstractIn recent year’s aluminum, magnesium and similar materials that have the high specific strength (strength/density) have become the focus of attention by the aviation and automotive industries where weight gain is important [1-3]. The weight gain in these areas will reduce fuel consumption and therefore also reduce greenhouse gasses (GHGs) emissions. It is important to improve the mechanical properties of these materials in order to increase their use. Alloying, thermo-mechanical processes, heat treatments etc. are among the methods that can be applied to develop these properties. One of the most preferred elements in the alloying of aluminum metal is silicon. Due to the high fluidity provided by the silicon, it is possible to produce parts with complex and thin sections by casting. Silicon provides fluidity to the liquid metal while also reducing the tendency to tear on the spattered part [4]. Copper can be used up to 5% as an alloying element when high strength values are required but corrosion resistance is not very important [4]. Iron, which forms intermetallic compounds with aluminum that are highly stable but have brittle nature which, negatively affects the ductility of the part and also reduces the corrosion resistance [4]. To get rid of these harmful effects that iron creates, some manganese or cobalt is added to the alloy. After alloying, T6 heat treatment applied for the development of mechanical properties is one of the most common methods. T6 heat treatment explains as artificial aging is applied after the sample is subjected to heat treatment [4]. In this study, attempts have been made to determine wear behavior of T6 heat treatment applied to commercially produced AlSi8Cu3Fe (ETIAL-160) aluminum alloy.