Dry sliding wear characteristics of severely deformed 6061 aluminum and AZ61 magnesium alloys

Abstract

Dry-sliding-wear behavior of ultra-fine grained 6061 At alloy and AZ61 Mg alloy was investigated. The accumulative roll bonding (ARB) and the equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) processes were employed to obtain refined microstructures in the At and Mg alloys, respectively. Pin-on-disk wear tests of the processed alloys were carried out with various applied load against a 304 stainless steel counterpart. In spite of the increased hardness and strength, wear resistance of the ultra-fine grained 6061 At alloy was lower than that of the coarse-grained starting alloy. The strength and wear resistance of the ECAP processed AZ61 Mg alloy did not change appreciably despite the refined micro structure. Recrystallization was found to occur during the ECAP process of the Mg alloy. Worn surfaces and cross-sections of the wear-tested specimens were examined to investigate the wear mechanism of the ultra-fine grained At and Mg alloys.