Effect of amount of boron carbide on wear loss of Al-6061 matrix composite by Taguchi technique and Response surface analysis

Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) have been widely investigated and used in automobile and aerospace industries due to their advantages of improved strength, stiffness and increased wear resistance over the monolithic alloys. Also considering limited reports on the study of weight % influence on wear characteristics of Al-6061-Boron Carbide (B₄Cp) composites. This study presents the effect of weight % of B₄Cp in Al-6061 alloy matrix on wear loss during dry sliding wear in pin-on-disc tribometer at different wear parameters against oil-hardened non-shrinking (OHNS) steel disk at room temperature. The composites are prepared by stir casting technique. Tribological investigations were examined according to the L9 orthogonal array of Taguchi. The influence of % of reinforcement along with load, speed and distance were examined for the wear loss of composites. The results, analyzed using Taguchi and Response Surface Method to understand significance of considered parameters (percentage of reinforcement, speed, time and load) on wear loss, revealed increased wear resistance of composite with increasing B4C particles. The observed results have been explained based on the microstructural behaviour and response surface of wear tested composites.