Dry sliding wear behaviour of a zinc-based alloy: A comparative study witha leaded-tin bronze

The present paper deals with the dry sliding wear behaviour of a zinc-based alloy against a stainless steel (grade 304) disc (counterface). The perfor mance of the zinc-based alloy has been compared with that of a conventional ly used leaded-tin bronze under identical test conditions. Wear tests have been conducted over a range of pressure and speed. The results revealed that the zinc-based alloy performs better than the bro nze over the entire range of speed and pressure. Further, the bronze attain ed improved wear response at the higher sliding speed. At the lower speed, material "chipping off" caused the tests to be stopped beyond a specific pr essure in the case of the bronze, while material seizure was observed at th e higher speed. The zinc-based alloy attained comparable wear rates at both the speeds, while seizure pressure reduced at the higher speed.