Enhancement of Tribological Performance of 6061 Aluminum Alloy by Second Phase Hardening via Friction Stir Processing

The properties of metallic alloys can be substantial modified by the addition of a second phase particles. This is especially noticeable when hard particles are incorporated in a relatively soft matrix, often resulting in improved mechanical and tribological performance. This paper presents the results of our study on mechanical and tribological performance enhancement of 6061 Aluminum alloys by incorporation of B₄C particle via Friction stir processing (FSP). Unidirectional ball on flat friction and wear tests were conducted with a base material, friction stir processed 6061-Al and 6061-Al doped with B₄C particles via FSP against 52100 bearing steel balls under dry sliding conditions. The incorporation of particles not only reduced friction by 30% but also reduced wear by 2 orders of magnitude compared to unprocessed base and FSP material without particles incorporation. FSP alone without particles addition did not have a significant effect on the tribological behavior of the tested aluminum alloy.