Aspects regarding wearing behaviour in case of aluminium composite materials reinforced with carbon fibers

This paper presents a study regarding wear comportment of sintered composite materials obtained by mixture of aluminium with short carbon fibers. The necessity to satisfying more and more the specific functions during design of high performance structures leads to perform multi-materials such as reinforced composite parts. The wear tests were made on three different orientations of fibers on a standard machine of tribology, pin disk type. Counter-disk was made of cast iron with a superficial hardness of 92 HB. The wear rate and friction coefficient decreased exponentially with time of friction and reached a stationary value. This behaviour was attributed to the development of a lubricating film on the friction surface. To conduct this work was performed measurements on samples from the Al matrix composites and carbon fiber 43%, wear mechanism was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. In addition to fiber orientation, the tribological behaviour of metal matrix composites reinforced with fiber is influenced by the interfacial reaction of fiber-matrix. The characteristics and the dimensions of the interface depend on the cycle of temperature and time at which the material has been subjected during the manufacturing process and thereafter.