Dry Sliding Wear Behavior of Aluminium Matrix Composite Using Red Mud an Industrial Waste

The effect of fillers like red mud (RM) on dry sliding wear behavior of pure aluminium has been experimentally investigated. Pure aluminium of IE-07 grades from National Aluminium Company (NALCO), Angul of Odisha, India being collected with fillers in 10%, 15%, 20% and 30% based on weight were prepared using a stir casting technique. The dry sliding wear tests were conducted using pin-on-disc wear test machine. Tests were conducted for a sliding distance from 4.53×103m to 27.18×103m with wear track diameter 50mm-180mm. For each composition wear tests were conducted for different sliding speeds of 200 rpm (1.257m/s), 300 rpm (1.885m/s) and 400 rpm (3.141m/s) by applying normal loads of 10N, 20N and 30N. The wear rate and coefficient of friction were plotted against the normal load, sliding velocity and sliding distance for each filler composition. The results reveal that incorporation of red mud fillers leads to significant improvement in wear resistance of aluminium. The effect is the increase in interfacial area between aluminium matrix and red mud particles leading to the increase in strength appreciably.