Influence of Heat Treatment on Abrasive Wear Resistance of Silumin Matrix Composite Castings
Metal composites have been in use as engineering material widely for many years all over the world and in Poland as well. Their wide range of applications results from their good strength properties, low specific gravity, relative ease in forming the material and the possibility of making pieces of various sizes. The diversity of manufacturing methods and possible changes in material properties depending on the components used is undoubtedly their greatest advantage [1 4] Metal composites, however, are continuously being improved by changes in the technological process. For instance, special alloy additives are used, reinforcements are subject to special preparation, (to facilitate bonds between components by changing the wetting angle) or by plastic or thermal treatment of ready products. These authors have been concerned with the technology of metal composite castings for years. One of the manufacturing methods we use is melt infiltration of the reinforcement structure (mostly ceramic) with liquid matrix metal applied under a pressure [5 10] Thus made materials were thermally treated. The treatment consisted in solution heat treatment and aging, then the abrasive wear of samples was examined in order to determine how such treatment affects their tribological properties.