Influence of hot extrusion in physical, mechanical and wear properties of AA8050-ZTA composite

In this study, an aluminum alloy (AA8050) matrix material was strengthened with zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) with varying weight percentages (0, 4, 8, 12) via powder metallurgy. The green pellet was sintered in an argon-controlled environment for less than 3 h at 580 °C after the ball-milled materials were cold compressed at 400 MPa. An extrusion force with 100 a die diameter of 30 mm, ram speed of 3 m⸳s-1, and extrusion ratio of 9:1 was employed. The hardness, density, porosity, and compressive strength (CS) of the samples were determined. The Taguchi experimental design L16 was used for the wear investigation, and the process parameters included the reinforcement percentage, sliding velocity, sliding distance, and load. The results showed that the ZTA composite with AA8050-8 wt. % content has superior mechanical characteristics to other compositions. SEM was used to characterize the composites and worn surfaces.