Wear Characteristics of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Al2024 Composites

Abstract

Composite materials have high specific strength and modulus of elasticity compared totraditional materials, thus, over the past 10-20 years, the demand for these kinds of materials has increasedsignificantly due to their specific properties. This means, the weight of the machine component producedfrom these materials can be reduced. In this study, the mold casting method was used in the production ofAl 2024 matrix composite materials. In sample production, 50% MgO and 50% MWCNT are mixed byweight and added to the matrix material in the ratio of 0.2% - 0.5% - 1% - 2%. The hardness and wearbehaviors of Al 2024 composites with MgO / MWCNT additive were investigated using Rockwell testerand a ball-on-disc wear tester. The effects of composite materials on the wear properties have beeninvestigated by determining the wear weight loss. 5N load and 250 m distance were chosen as the weartest parameters and percent wear amounts of the samples were examined. It was observed that hardnessvalues of samples increased, and the wear percentage of specimens decreased with the addition ofreinforcement. The best ratio for the composite design is the mixing of 50 wt.% + MgO 50 wt.% CNTwith 1 wt.%.