Nanostructured Al and Al/SiC nanocomposites
were prepared by high energy mechanical milling and hot
pressing process. The tribological behavior of the produced
materials was studied by a ball-on-flat tribometer. Dry
sliding wear tests indicated that the nanocomposite with
4 vol% SiC exhibits a lower wear loss and a higher coefficient
of friction compared to nanostructured Al. This was
due to reduction of the extent of wear deformation in the
subsurface region and difficult plastic deformation of
debris, resulting from grain size refinement and nanoparticle
strengthening synergistic effects, during sliding.
Investigation of worn surfaces showed that delamination
and abrasion are dominant wear mechanisms for the
nanostructured Al and the Al/SiC nanocomposite.