DRY SLIDING WEAR STUDIES OF ZINC ALUMINIUM ALLOY CONTAINING MICRO AND NANO SOLID LUBRICANTS

This paper has carried out characterization and dry sliding wear of ZA alloy composites reinforced with solid lubricants like graphite microparticles and zinc oxide nanoparticles to enhance the wear properties of ZA-Nano composite. ZA composite samples were fabricated using Nano ZnO and micro graphite particulates (50-60 microns) by stir casting technique. Microstructural examination were used to characterize the composite samples produced. The results show that hardness of the composite samples increased with an increase in weight percentage of graphite and ZnO nanoparticles. It was generally observed that composite sample containing 1 wt. % of reinforcement has the highest hardness values. Results obtained from the Microstructural examination using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) show that the nanoparticles were well dispersed in the ZA alloy matrix. There is a scope to improve the wear properties of ZA alloy by reinforcing with hard/wear resistant material like hard nanoparticles and graphite. An attempt has been made to investigate the dry sliding properties of ZA/ZnO/Graphite composites