WEAR MECHANISM OF IRON COMPOSITE REINFORCED WITH SILICA

Wear results in severe economic loss and affected national income grossly.
Therefore, efforts to develop wear resistant materials have been allotted a high
priority in the field of materials research. The requirements for relatively inexpensive
high wear resistance materials can be met simply and economically by producing
iron base composite with silica reinforcement. This composite offers higher wear
resistance and chemical stability at elevated temperature such as for high efficiency
engines and turbo charger bushings application. The iron composites was fabricated
via powder metallurgy technique, with five compositions of silica particles; 5, 10, 15,
20 and 25 wt.%. The sintering process was conducted using a Hot Isotatic Press at
three sintering temperatures; 1000°C, 1100°C and 1200°C. Mechanical properties
such as density, hardness and flexural strength were determined.