Dry Sliding Wear Performances of AA5052 Hybrid Composite Brake Disc Materials Reinforced With In Situ Synthesized TiC and Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube

Abstract In this research, aluminum alloy AA5052-based hybrid metal matrix composites (MMCs) were fabricated using in situ synthesized titanium carbide (TiC) and ex situ multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) as reinforcements using the liquid metallurgy route. The wear characteristics of the aluminum hybrid MMCs were analyzed under the synergistic effects of TiC and multi-walled CNT. Pin-on-disc wear setup was utilized for the experimental investigation where the hybrid composite is considered as the disc, and the traditional brake pad material is treated as the pin. The parameters, i.e., sliding distance, applied load, sliding velocity, and reinforcement content, are treated as inputs, whereas the wear-rate and coefficient of friction are considered output variables for the tribological experimentation. The influence of various input process parameters on the tribological behavior of the fabricated samples was investigated. The plastic deformation attained by the base alloy exhibited delamination, which indicates adhesive wear, whereas the composites exhibited abrasive nature as analyzed from the wear surface morphology. The wear debris was characterized by flake-sized, corrugated, and oxidized by the microstructural study.