Tribological characteristics of Fe-Cu-Sn alloy with molybdenum disulfide as a solid lubricant under dry conditions

Fe-based materials play a significant role in engineering applications as bearings and gears owing due to their low cost, ease of manufacture, high strength, availability, and good wear resistance and low coefficient of friction. In this study, molybdenum disulfide added Fe-Cu-Sn alloy is developed using simple single stage compaction and sintering elemental powders. The friction and wear behaviors of the sintered alloys sliding against EN8 steel ball under dry conditions were studied using a ball-on-disc tribometer. The interconnected porosity decreases and density increases with added molybdenum disulfide. The hardness of the molybdenum disulfide added compositions are better than the base composition. The composition with higher wt% of molybdenum disulfide is found to be beneficial in improving friction and wear characteristics. The wear mechanism in base composition is observed to be adhesive and abrasive, while as mild abrasive wear is observed in the 3 wt% molybdenum di sulfide added sample. (author)