Influence of rare earth oxide and graphite on the mechanical and tribological properties of Fe/Cu based sintered friction materials

  • K. Rajesh Kannan Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
  • R. Vaira Vignesh Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
  • M. Govindaraju Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
  • P. S. Samuel Ratna Kumar Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Johannesburg

Abstract

Fe/Cu-based sintered friction materials are proven potential materials for heavy-duty applications. The current research explores the influence of rare earth oxide (Nd2O3) and graphite on the tribological characteristics of Fe/Cu-based friction materials. The constituents present in the friction material are Fe, Cu, Cg (1%, 3%, 5%, 7%), BaSO4, and Nd2O3 (5%). Optical microscopy and elemental mapping studies reveal the homogeneous distribution of elements in the matrix. Sintered density of the specimens showed a maximum of 70% of the theoretical density measured by Archimedes' principle. XRD analysis shows no new phase formation in all the sintered specimens. A peak microhardness result of 96 HV is obtained in specimen NG-01. The pin–on–disc tribotests are performed at an axial load of 50 N at a sliding velocity of 5.5 m/s. Specimen NG-03 with 3% graphite exhibited an optimum wear rate with a friction coefficient of 0.45. The surface morphology and elemental composition of the worn specimens are investigated. The morphological features inferred that the wear mechanism is predominantly mixed abrasive and adhesive.

Published
2024-04-18
Issue
Vol 56 No 1 (2024)
Section
Articles

Copyright 

Authors retain copyright of the published article and have the right to use the article in the ways permitted to third parties under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Full bibliographic information (authors, article title, journal title, volume, issue, pages) about the original publication must be provided and a link must be made to the article's DOI. This license allows to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, remix, transform, and build upon it for any purpose, even commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given to the original author(s), a link to the license is provided and it is indicated if changes were made.