Publication

Abstract : The effect of surface refining process (SRP) on hardness, wear rate and coefficient of friction of Al-4Cu (Cu 4wt. %, Al balance) was measured in this study. Cast samples of the alloy composition Al-4wt% Cu were prepared for the purpose of this study. Surface refining was conducted using Gas Tungsten Arc (GTA) as heat source. Microstructural evaluation was done using metallurgical microscope. Vicker's Hardness tester was used to measure the hardness. Pin on disc wear tester was used to measure the wear rate and coefficient of friction under as per ASTM G99. Hardness was found to increase from 55 HV for substrate to 104HV for that of modified layer. Wear rate was found to decrease with increase in hardness. Further wear rate increased with increase in load whereas it remained constant with varying speeds. COF was found to be constant for all test conditions. The heat treatment is found to have an impact on the hardness of the modified layer. The hardness was increased from 104 HV for the as refined condition to 162 HV for the heat treated condition, an observation that was not previously reported in the literature. The results obtained in this study are comparable with that of previous studies. However, the aged samples showed a superior hardness when compared to the data shown in the previous e-beam/laser studies. © 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.