International Journal of Applied Engineering Research
ISSN 0973-4562 Volume 9, Number 23 (2014) pp. 19279-19285
© Research India Publications
http://www.ripublication.com
Paper Code: 28005 - IJAER
An Experimental Investigation of Dry Sliding Wear
Behaviour on Phosphor Bronze/WS
2
Particle Reinforced
Composites
*
Sangaravadivel P, Natarajan N, Krishnaraj V and Rajalingam S
*
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology,
Sathyamangalam, Tamilnadu, India- 638 401
shankaran.1144@gmail.com
Abstract
In this work, phosphor bronze alloy composite reinforced with tungsten
disulfide (WS
2
) particles were fabricated by stir casting technique. The sliding
wear behaviour of WS
2
particle reinforced composites for different weight
percentage of reinforcement has been investigated in unlubricated conditions
using pin-on-disk tribometer for various loads and speeds and the results were
compared with unreinforced phosphor bronze alloy. The experimental result
shows that the wear rate increases with increase in load and sliding speed. The
wear rate of the composite specimens decreases for the increase in amount of
tungsten disulfide which is lower than that of phosphor bronze alloy. It was
observed that the transition phenomenon occurs from mild to severe wear at
certain load. The inclusion of tungsten disulfide particles in bronze matrix
material improves the tribological properties. The microstructures of the
fabricated specimens were examined by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope)
and which shows the fine distribution of reinforcement in the bronze matrix.
Keywords: Metal Matrix Composites, Stir casting, Sliding wear, Scanning
Electron Microscope
I. Introduction
Phosphor bronze is the typical copper based alloy in which the addition of phosphor
helps to increase the stiffness and wear resistance of the base metal. It exhibits good
corrosion resistance, cold workability; good machinability and fatigue resistance
which made it suitable for wide range of engineering applications in severe operating
conditions such as bearings, springs, worm wheel, fasteners etc [1]. Since, particle
reinforced composites revealed better plastic forming capability than that of the