Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical

Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical

Engineering
Science
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Tribological behaviour of A390/Grp metalmatrix composites fabricated using a combination of
rheocasting and squeeze casting techniques
T S Mahmoud
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science 2008 222:
257
DOI: 10.1243/09544062JMES468
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257

Tribological behaviour of A390/Grp metal matrix

composites fabricated using a combination of
rheocasting and squeeze casting techniques
T S Mahmoud
Mechanical Engineering Department, Shoubra Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, 108 Shoubra Street, Cairo,
Egypt. email: tsmaz2000@yahoo.com
The manuscript was received on 6 August 2006 and was accepted after revision for publication on 30 September 2007.
DOI: 10.1243/09544062JMES468

Abstract: The dry sliding wear performance of hypereutectic A390 Al Si alloy reinforced with
graphite particulates (Grp) was investigated. Composites containing 4 and 8 wt% of Grp were
produced by rheocasting technique followed by squeeze casting. Pins of the materials were
rubbed against a 316 stainless steel disc using pin-on-ring type apparatus under various
loads and speeds. It has been observed that both wear rate and the coefficient of friction of
the composites decreased considerably with Grp additions. The A390/Grp composites exhibited
higher wear resistance than those obtained for the monolithic A390 alloy. The formation of the
hard tribo-layer on the surface of the composites assisted in increasing the wear resistance of
these materials. It is believed that the reduction of the friction coefficient is attributed the presence of the graphite layers within the tribo-layer.
Keywords: metal matrix composites, wear, friction, Al Si alloys

INTRODUCTION

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) based on

aluminium silicon (Al Si) alloys are finding increasing application in modern aerospace and automotive
industries due to their superior mechanical and
tribological properties [1 2]. Typical components
already made from ceramic reinforced Al Si MMCs
are brake rotors, piston rings, and cylinder liners in
automobiles [3]. Several Al Si MMCs for wear applications, using several reinforcements were developed. The most widely used reinforcements being
SiC [2, 3], Al2O3 [4, 5], and graphite [6 10].
It has been shown that dispersion of graphite particulates (Grp) in Al Si alloys improves their wear
resistance and reduces the friction coefficient [6 9].
Yang et al. [6] studied the tribological characteristics
of A356.2 alloy reinforced with 2, 4, 6, and 8 wt% of
copper coated Grp and prepared by rheocasting
route. They observed that the composites containing
4 and 6 wt% Grp exhibited the lowest wear rate and
friction coefficient, and these properties were insensitive to the variation in sliding speed and normal
loading. While, the wear rate of 8 wt% Grp content
JMES468 # IMechE 2008

was the highest, but the sliding speed and the

normal pressure have little influence on the wear
rate. Das et al. [7] investigated two Al Si alloys,
near eutectic (LM13) and hypereutectic (LM30) compositions, containing 3 wt% graphite particles (63
120 mm) prepared by the stir casting technique.
They found that the presence of dispersed Grp and
the morphology of the silicon phase have influence
the friction and wear behaviour of the (Al Si)/Grp
composites. The coefficients of friction of the LMl3
and LM30 alloys were reduced by more than 50 per
cent because of graphite particle dispersion.
There is several fabrication techniques used for
manufacturing the MMCs. For instance, powder
metallurgy, squeeze casting, in-situ, and stir casting.
Among these manufacturing processes, stir casting
is the most economical of all the available routes for
MMCs production. The technique involves the
addition of particulate reinforcement into liquid
metal during agitation. This technique has many
advantages such as simplicity, flexibility, and productivity. Another important advantage of this technique is the low cost of the final product.
Unfortunately, stir casting is difficult to produce
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T S Mahmoud

Al/Grp MMCs. Many investigations [610] reported

that it is difficult to impregnate the Grp with the
molten Al due to the poor wettability between the Al
and the Grp. Several studies were conducted to improve
the Grp wettability with molten Al alloy by coating them
with nickel or copper [6, 10]. These investigations
showed that, coating Grp with nickel or copper is an
effective way to promote wetting of aluminium on
graphite. However, this method has many disadvantages such as the high cost and low productivity.
In order to overcome some of the aforementioned
drawbacks associated with the stir casting techniques, semisolid agitation processes, which are
often referred to as compocasting or rheocasting are
being employed [11, 12]. Nowadays, rheocasting is
accepted as a commercial route for producing
MMCs. This technique is a modified version of stir
casting in which the alloy is heated to a temperature
within its semi-solid range followed by vigorous agitation using mechanical or electro-hydro-dynamic
techniques. The presence of the primary solid phase
in the viscous semisolid slurry assists the incorporation of the graphite particles. Moreover, the solidified phases prevent the reinforcements from
agglomerating, resulting in a more homogeneous
particle distribution as compared with a fully
molten alloy. However, the composites produced by
rheocasting suffer from the high porosity content,
which has a deleterious effect on the mechanical
properties [12]. It has been reported that the porosity
can be reduced by means of mechanical working
such as extrusion or rolling on the solidified composites or by applying a pressure to the composite
slurry during solidification [4].
The hypoeutectic Al Si alloys, especially A356 and
A357, are extensively used as a matrix alloy in MMCs
produced by rheocasting technique. These alloys are
found to be very suitable to be processed in the semisolid state, since they exhibit a wide solidification
range and an easy temperature control during processing [13]. In contrast, hypereutectic Al Si alloys,
such as A390, are less attractive; even they exhibit several very specific and interesting properties, such as
high strength and high wear resistance. This is
because the semi-solid processing of these alloys
are combined with several difficulties [14], such as:

(a) produce good quality A390/Grp MMCs by a combination of rheocasting and squeeze casting routes;
(b) examine the microstructural changes due to the
incorporation of Grp into the A390 alloy;
(c) investigate the effect of Grp content on the dry
sliding wear behaviour of the alloy under various
loads and speeds.
2
2.1

EXPERIMENTAL WORK
Materials

In the present investigation, the hypereutectic A390

Al Si alloy was used as matrix. The chemical composition of A390 Al alloy is presented in Table 1.
Uncoated Grp with size range of 20 + 10 mm and
99 per cent purity were used as reinforcement
material. Figures 1(a) and (b) show both the SEM
micrograph and X-ray analysis for the graphite particulates, respectively.
2.2

Determination of the solidification range

In order to determine the solidus and liquidus temperatures as well as liquid weight fractions at any temperature for the as cast A390 alloy, a liquid fraction
versus temperature curve was constructed using
differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique.
The DSC measures directly the evolution of the heat
of melting during the solidliquid phase transformation to determine the liquid fraction versus temperature relationship. The liquid fraction versus
temperature relationship was obtained by integration
of partial areas under the DSC curve. Figure 2 shows
the DSC curve for the monolithic A390 alloy as well
as the liquid weight fraction versus temperature
relationship. It is clear that the alloy has approximately
solidus and liquids temperatures of 540 and 590 8C,
respectively. Figure 2 shows also that the temperature
at which the A390 alloy contains 50 per cent liquid
weight fraction is 572 8C, approximately.
2.3

Composites preparation

It is the purpose of the present work, therefore,

to:

Based on the data obtained from Fig. 2, A390/Grp

composites containing 4 and 8 wt% of Grp were produced by a combination of rheocasting and squeeze
casting techniques. About 500 gm of A390 alloy was
placed inside a graphite crucible and then heated to
650 8C for melting. After complete melting of the
A390 Al alloy, a degassing process was carried out
using argon inert gas. Then the melt was gradually
cooled down to 572 8C and agitation is started at
approximately 750 r/min speed using a preheated
four-blade stainless steel impeller. The stirring time
was about 10 min. After that, preheated Grp were

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(a) the narrow solidification range exhibited by such

alloys which make the temperature control
during processing is difficult;
(b) the difficulty in avoiding segregation of massive
primary silicon particles;
(c) the unfavourable shrinkage behaviour exhibited
by such alloys.

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Tribological behaviour of A390/Grp MMCs

Table 1

259

Chemical composition of A390 alloy

Chemical compositions (wt%)

Alloy

Si

Fe

Cu

Mg

Mn

Ni

Zn

Ti

Al

A390

16.47

0.36

4.29

0.62

0.132

0.149

0.019

0.017

Bal.

Fig. 1

The graphite particulates: (a) SEM micrograph and (b) x-ray analysis

introduced into the matrix during the agitation. After

completing the addition of Grp, the agitation was
stopped and the molten mixture was poured into preheated low carbon steel mould and immediately
squeezed during solidification.
Squeezing the composites during solidification is
essential to reduce the porosity content inside the
composites and improve the interfacial bonding
between Grp and the Al matrix. The A390 monolithic
alloy was produced by the same technique used for
the production of the A390/Grp composites with the
exception that no stirring process was carried
out. The alloy was poured into the mould from the
572 8C and squeezed during solidification.
2.4

high resolution digital camera. Microstructural

characterization was performed in the unetched condition. Quantitative metallographic analysis was performed using image analyser software.
2.6

Wear tests

Wear tests were performed on a pin-on-ring machine.

All tests were run under dry sliding conditions in
atmospheric condition of 25 30 8C ambient temperature and 50 60 per cent humidity. Cylindrical
flat-end specimens of dimension 8 diameter and
length 12 mm were used. The counterface disc was

Heat treatment and hardness measurements

Specimens were solution treated at 495 8C (T6) for 3 h

and then quenched in cold water. After cooling specimens were artificially aged at 177 8C for 8 h. The hardness of the composites was measured using a
macro-hardness tester by applying an indentation
load of 10 kg with a Vickers indenter. Ten readings
were taken for each sample and the average value
was determined.
2.5

Metallographic investigations

Microstructural observations were conducted using

an optical metallurgical microscope equipped with
JMES468 # IMechE 2008

Fig. 2

DSC curve for the A390 as-cast alloy

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T S Mahmoud

made of 316 stainless steel, of nominal composition

(by wt%) 0.08 per cent C, 1 per cent Si, 12 per cent
Ni, 17 per cent Cr, 2.5 per cent Mo, and balance Fe,
with a hardness of 184 VHN. Both of the disc and
the specimens were polished to 1200 emery papers
before each wear test.
Wear tests were conducted at nominal sliding velocities of 0.45, 0.98, and 1.42 m/s under normal
loads varies from 10 to 40 N. A fixed track (ring) diameter of 100 mm was used in all tests. The duration of
the experiment was controlled by a stopwatch. The
sliding distances varies from 0.5 to 3 km. Wear behaviour was obtained by calculating the weight loss of
the specimens before and after tests using an electronic balance with sensitivity 0.1 mg. The samples
were cleaned in an acetone bath and dried in hot
air before the tests to remove the organic substances.
The wear rates (the slopes of the cumulative weight
loss versus sliding distance curves) of the investigated
alloys were calculated by using the data after the
run-in stage.
Friction coefficient measurements were made
using a transducer (load cell) to measure the frictional force developed on the pin holder and caused
by the ring rotation. The coefficient of friction was
computed by dividing the frictional force by the
normal load. Typical worn surfaces were examined
using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

3
3.1

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Microstructural characteristics

Representative microstructures of A390 monolithic

alloy as well as the A390/Grp composites containing
4 and 8 wt% Grp are shown in Fig. 3. The a-Al,
coarse eutectic and primary silicon can be clearly
seen in Fig. 3(a) for the monolithic A390 alloy. It is
clear from the Figs 3(b) and (c) that the Grp are distributed uniformly in the Al alloy matrix. Figure 4
shows a higher magnification micrograph for the
microstructure of A390/4 per cent Grp composite.

Fig. 4

High magnification micrograph for A390/4 wt%

Grp composite

Microstructures revealed that the morphologies of

both eutectic and primary silicon are significantly
affected by the presence of Grp. With addition of
Grp, a considerable reduction in the size of primary
silicon and the eutectic Si occurred. The refinement
of the eutectic structure and primary silicon of the
hypereutectic Al Si alloys due to the addition of ceramic reinforcements were observed by many
workers [15]. It is believed that the ceramic particulates acts like sites for heterogeneous nucleation and
the primary Si nucleates on the surface of ceramic
particles. It is also believed that stirring process carried out during composites preparation has also
assistant in obtaining such fine structures [16, 17].
Ryoom et al. [16] studied the microstructural
changes during semi-solid state processing of hypereutectic Al-23 per cent Si. They found that, the shearing of the semi-solid slurry results in morphological
changes of the primary Si particles, i.e. form
angular plate shape to near spherical shape. This
type of morphology change is due to coalescence
and fracture of the brittle Si particles. Accordingly,
it may be concluded that the fine structure exhibited
by the A390/Grp composites is due to a combination
of two factors, the first, is the addition of
graphite particulates and the second is the stirring
action carried out during the addition of these
particulates.

3.2

Hardness of the composites

The microstructure of the prepared composites:

(a) monolithic A390, (b) A390/4 wt% Grp, and (c)
A390/8 wt% Grp

Vickers hardness results revealed that, the reinforced

alloys exhibit a slight increase in the hardness compared with the unreinforced alloy. The unreinforced
A390 alloy and the composites containing 4 and
8 wt% Grp exhibited average hardness values of 165,
168, and 172 VHN, respectively. This could be attributed to the relatively high hardness of Grp as well as

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Fig. 3

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Tribological behaviour of A390/Grp MMCs

261

the modification and refinement of eutectic in the

matrix alloy.

3.3

Wear rates and coefficient of friction

Results of dry sliding wear tests conducted on the

A390 monolithic alloy and the A390/Grp composites
showed that the weight loss of the samples increased
linearly with increasing sliding distance. Figure 5
shows examples of the results for the variation of
the weight loss with the sliding distance for the investigated alloys under different test conditions.
For all alloys, it is clear that the amount of wear
(measured by weight loss) generally increases with
increasing sliding distance and becomes greater with
an increase in normal load. However, the composites
exhibited lower weight losses when compared with

Fig. 5

The variation of the weight loss with the sliding

distance for: (a) A390, (b) A390/4 per cent Grp,
and (c) A390/8 per cent Grp under different
test conditions

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Fig. 6

The variation of the wear rate of the composites

against to normal loads and sliding speed: (a)
0.45 m/s, (b) 0.98 m/s, and (c) 1.42 m/s

the monolithic alloy. The composites containing

8 wt% of Grp showed lower weight losses when compared with the one contains 4 wt% of Grp (i.e. increasing the amount of graphite has a great influence on
reduction of the amount of weight losses). It has
been observed also that, at constant load, increasing
the sliding speed increases the amount of weight loss
for the investigated alloys (Fig. 5). Another important
observation is that the unreinforced and composite
specimens did not exhibit an initial run-in wear
stage in which the wear rate fluctuated and exhibited
unstable behaviour. Only the stable (steady state)
wear rate stage is noticed. The absence of the run-in
wear stage in MMCs was noticed by many workers [1].
Figure 6 shows the variation of the wear rate of the
A390 monolithic alloy and the graphite reinforced
composites against the load at different sliding velocities. It is apparent that wear rate of both the monolithic A390 and the composites increased with
increasing the load in accordance with the proposition of Archard [18]. The A390/Grp composites
exhibited lower wear rates compared with the monolithic alloy. The A390/8 per cent Grp composites
exhibited lowest wear rates when compared with
both the A390 alloy and A390/4 per cent Grp
composites.
In Fig. 6, there are appears to be two regimes of
wear behaviour: one with a lower wear-rate (mild
wear), whereas the other with a higher wear-rate
(severe wear). The transition loads for the composites
were much higher than that observed for the monolithic alloy and also the transition load increased
with the increase in Grp content. The A390 monolithic
alloy showed transitional load between 20 and 30 N
and at sliding speed 0.45 m/s. While, at higher velocities (i.e. at sliding velocities 0.98 and 1.42 m/s) the
transitional load lies between 10 and 20 N. The
A390/4 per cent Grp composites did not show any
transitional loads up to sliding speed 0.98 m/s. At
the speed of 1.42 m/s these composites showed a
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T S Mahmoud

of the wear rate on both the applied load and sliding

speed is also reported by many researchers [1 3, 9].
The variation of the friction coefficient with the
volume fraction of Grp for the A390 monolithic alloy
and the composites is shown in Fig. 7. It can be concluded from the figure that there was a significant
decrease in the coefficient of friction on the A390
alloy due to graphite particle dispersion. The
decreased coefficient of friction of the Al/Grp composites with increased graphite content is consistent
with those reported by many researchers [7, 9]. However, other workers [19, 20], have found that Al/Gr
composites containing small amounts of graphite
(up to 5 wt%) possess superior wear properties over
the base alloy, whereas at higher graphite addition
levels a complete reversal in the wear behaviour
was observed. Furthermore, some reports [6] indicate
that the wear rate of Al/Grp composites initially
increases as the amount of graphite additions
increases up to certain levels and then drops to
lower values.
Fig. 7

Variation of the friction coefficient with the

sliding speed and the amount of Grp in wt% at
different loads of: (a) 10 N, (b) 20 N, (c) 30 N,
and (d) 40 N

transitional load lies between 20 and 30 N. The A390/

8 per cent Grp composites did not show any transitional loads up to 1.42 m/s. The above mentioned
observation indicates that the presence of Grp
delays the transition from mild to severe wear, and
increases the transition load of the composites with
respect to the monolithic alloy. It follows from the
graphs shown in Fig. 6, that the sliding speeds
employed have a significant effect on the wear rate
of the materials. The wear rates of all alloys are seen
to increase as the sliding speed increases. Moreover,
the transition load decreases with the increase in sliding speed in all the materials. The strong dependence

Fig. 8

3.4

Worn surfaces examination

Figure 8 shows SEM photographs of the worn surfaces for the monolithic A390 and A390/8 per cent
Grp composite alloys after sliding distance of 3 km
under load of 10 N and speed of 0.45 m/s. Comparing
Figs 8(a) and (b) shows that the worn surface of Al/20
per cent Grp is smoother than the unreinforced alloy.
It is also noticed that graphite lubricant films were
formed on the worn surface of the composite alloy.
It is suggested that the formation of the graphite
film at the surfaces of the composites can avoid
direct contact between the specimens and the
counterpart, thus reducing the shear stress transferred to the sliding surface, and decreasing both
the friction coefficient and wear rate. Increasing the
sliding speed from 0.45 to 1.42 m/s leaded to a

Typical SEM micrographs of the worn surfaces of the (a) A390 and (b) A390/8 per cent Grp
after sliding distance 3 km under 0.45 m/s speed and 10 N load

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Tribological behaviour of A390/Grp MMCs

Fig. 9

Typical SEM micrographs of the worn surfaces of the (a) A390 and (b) A390/8 per cent Grp
after sliding distance 3 km under 1.42 m/s speed and 10 N load

different morphology of the worn surfaces for both

the unreinfoced alloy and the composites.
Figure 9 shows SEM micrographs for the same
materials and conditions shown in Fig. 8 but under
sliding speed of 1.42 m/s. In Fig. 9, long ploughing
lines could be seen in the worn surface of both the
unreinforced A390 and the composites. However, the
worn surface of Al/20 per cent Grp is still smoother
than the unreinforced alloy. More surface damage is
noticed on the surface of the unreinforced alloy.
Figure 10 shows SEM micrographs for the monolithic A390 and A390/4 per cent Grp composite alloys
after sliding distance of 3 km under load of 40 N and
speed of 1.42 m/s. In both alloys the occurrence of
extensive plastic deformation during wear is clearly
observed. From Fig. 10(a), it is clear that an extensive
surface damage due to the high material removal
(delamination process) rate takes place in the A390
monolithic alloy. It indicates that wear mechanism
changes from mild to severe wear with increasing
load. In the case of the composite alloy; the Grp
assist in reduction of the delamination resulted in
more wear resistance. Figure 10(b) shows the presence
of cavities partially covered over by surface flow of

Fig. 10

263

matrix material along the sliding direction. This

suggests that graphite particulates had been removed
from the matrix by the de-bonding process.
Much of the composites surfaces were covered in a
thick layer (tribolayer) that was predominantly oxide
(Fig. 11). The layer was extensively cracked and
had delaminated in places. The oxide layers at the
contact surfaces were formed as a result of the iron
transferred from the counterface. During sliding
metal metal wear tests of aluminium based composites, the iron oxide layer formed on the contact
surfaces acted as a solid lubricant and improved
wear resistant [1]. The formation of the tribolayers
increased the surface hardness significantly and
played an important role in delaying the mild-to-severe
wear transition in aluminum matrix composites. The
presence of Grp served as a safeguard by generating a
hard compacted tribolayer with smooth surface and
sufficient thickness to protect the material underneath from excessive subsurface damage.
It is believed that the coefficient of friction in graphitic composites is lower because of the presence
of the graphite layers within the tribolayer [20].
The lower coefficient of friction in graphitic

Typical SEM micrographs of the worn surfaces of the (a) A390 and (b) A390/4 per cent
Grp after sliding distance 3 km under 1.42 m/s speed and 40 N load

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264

T S Mahmoud

Fig. 11

SEM micrograph showing cracking in tribolayer

for A390/4 per cent Grp composite tested at
applied load 20 N and sliding speed 0.98 m/s

composites compared with the non-graphitic composite reduces the shear stresses transmitted to the
bulk subsurface material underneath the tribolayer,
which is one of the possible reasons as to why mild
wear regime tends to higher loads, and velocities
without the removal of the tribolayers. Akhlaghi
and Pelaseyyed [21] have mentioned that the dry
wear characteristics of Al/Grp composites may
have been explained by two competing factors;
First, the beneficial effect of the Grp addition in
reducing the wear and friction of the composites
due to formation of a thin lubricating graphite rich
film on the tribosurface and secondly, the adverse
effects of the graphite addition in formation of porosity and cracks as well as the deterioration of mechanical
properties
resulting
in
enhanced
delamination. Moreover, according to the literature
[7 10], [16 20], apart from the graphite content,
the efficiency of solid lubrication by graphite in Al/
Gr composites depends on a number of factors
such as wear testing conditions and especially the
applied pressure and also the morphology, shape,
size, and the distribution of graphite particles as
well as the nature of the particle matrix interfacial
bonding together with the matrix microstructure.
In the present investigation, the combination of the
rheocasting and squeeze casting processes during
the preparation of the composites assisted in obtaining good quality composites, which in turn reflected
on the properties of the composites. The rheocasting
process can produce composites having good distribution of the reinforcements. However, the composites suffer from high porosity content and bad
Al/Grp interfacial bonding. It is suggested that the
compressive stress applied during solidification of
the composites assists in reducing the porosity and
improving the interfacial bonding between the Grp
and aluminium matrix.

CONCLUSIONS

1. In the present work, good quality A390/4 and A390/

8 wt% Grp composites were fabricated using a
combination of rheocasting and squeeze casting
techniques. The A390/Grp composites prepared by
this integrated approach were found to have good
distribution of graphite particulates. It is expected
that this technique assistants in improving the
matrix/particles interfacial bonding.
2. The A390/Grp composites and the A390 monolithic alloy showed different microstructures in
the size of the primary and eutectic silicon. The
composites exhibited much finer primary and
eutectic silicon structures. The microstructural
changes are attributed to both the stirring action
carried out during the addition of the graphite
particulates and the heterogeneous nucleation
performed by the graphite particles themselves.
3. The A390/Grp composites showed better wear
resistance when compared with the monolithic
alloy. The lower wear rates were performed for
A390/8 wt% Grp composites. The formation of
the tribolayer of the surface of the composites
assists in reducing the wear rate.
4. The friction coefficient of A390 alloy was significantly
reduced because of graphite particle dispersion. It is
believed that the coefficient of friction in graphitic
composites is lower because of the presence of the
graphite layers within the tribo-layer.

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