Dry sliding wear of Al-Fe-Cr-Mn quasicrystalline phase former alloy obtained by spray forming

Samples from different regions of a spray formed billet of Al92Fe3Cr2Mn3 quasicrystalline phase former alloy were analyzed and their wear behavior has been studied. The microstructures observed depend on the cooling rate imposed to the material. The border of the billet exhibits a very fine structure with presence of quasicrystalline phase and the base showed a fine structure but without presence of quasicrystalline phase. Dry sliding wear tests were made using three loads and samples of these two different regions. The wear surfaces were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Similar wear behavior was observed in the border and the base samples at the same load. The wear mechanism verified is the adhesive and the applied load increases the formation of Al2O3. These particles can take off the surface and act as abrasive, which can explain the large increase in the wear rate for the samples loaded at 30N.(author)