Effects of Cold Work and Artificial Aging on Microabrasive Wear of 6201 Aluminum Conductor

Aluminum conductor cables are exposed to environmental conditions in service, where wind-induced vibrations generate multiaxial stresses and cause partial sliding between the stranded layers. Such dynamic loading can lead to fatigue or wear failure, particularly at the contact zones between wire layers. The influence of heat treatment and cold work on the wear of these aluminum wires remains unstudied. This work aims to evaluate the microabrasive wear of rolled and heat-treated 6201 aluminum alloy wires used in conductor cables. The wear tests were performed using free-ball microabrasive wear equipment and alumina (Al2O3) abrasive paste at a concentration of 0.40 g/mL of distilled water. The parameters used were as follows: 100 Cr6 steel balls with a diameter of 25.4 mm, sample inclination of 60°, normal force of 0.3 N, and shaft speed of 0.185 m/s or 280 rpm. The test time was set at 20 min, 30 min, 40 min, 50 min, and 60 min. The wear test data were processed using the Achard equation. The microabrasive wear test results indicate that the wear coefficient decreased by 19.1% after the artificial aging process, compared with the solution-treated alloy (95% CI: 15.5–22.3%), and this reduction was statistically significant (p < 0.001). After the combined treatment of rolling and artificial aging, the alloy had a drop in wear coefficient of 36.1% compared to the same solution-treated alloy (95% CI: 32.6–39.6%), representing the largest statistically significant improvement among the tested conditions (p < 0.001). Cold work (rolling) reduces the mobility of dislocations, requiring greater stress to deform the material, thereby increasing its stiffness and wear resistance. In this 6201 alloy, it is inferred that artificial aging led to the formation of Guinier-Preston zones, which evolved into the formation of metastable β” precipitates in needle-like form, coherent with the matrix. As the aging process progresses, the β’ particles evolve into larger β particles that are no longer coherent with the matrix. The combined processes of rolling and aging decrease the wear coefficient. Statistical analysis demonstrated that microstructural conditions explain approximately half of the total variability in the wear coefficient (η2 = 0.495), indicating that the wear performance under the present experimental configuration is primarily governed by intrinsic strengthening mechanisms rather than experimental variability.