Tribological Analysis ofMg2SiParticulates Reinforced Powder Metallurgy Magnesium Alloy Composites under Oil Lubrication Condition
For the evaluation of wear behavior of Mg composites under oil lubrication conditions, powder metallurgyMg97Y2Zn1alloy reinforced with additiveMg2Siparticles were fabricated by the repeated plastic working (RPW) and hot extrusion. The RPW process was effective in refining bothMg2Sireinforcements andα-Mg grains causing the matrix hardening. When increasing the repetition number of RPW process from 200 to 600 cycles, the particle size ofMg2Siadditives changed from 8 μm to 1~2 μm, andα-Mg grain size was 1 μm or less. With regard to the defensive and offensive properties of Mg alloys reinforced withMg2Sidispersoids, the composite had superior adhesive wear resistance compared with the conventional Mg alloys because of its extremely high microhardness of 95~180 Hv by RPW process. The uniform distribution of refinedMg2Siparticles was useful for improving both defensive and offensive properties against AZ31B counter disk specimens. TheMg2Siprominent dispersoids in the matrix were also effective in forming the oil grooves around them, and caused the low and stable friction coefficient. On the other hand, in the case of the composite containing coarseMg2Siparticles, severely deep scratches were given on the counter face of the AZ31B disk, and resulted in an unstable and high friction coefficient.