Aluminum alloy-based (LY-12) composites were made by embedding pins of bear
ing steel, plain carbon steel, brass, copper, graphite, and polytetra-fluor
oethylene (PTFE). The surface area ratio of the embedded phase was 39.1%. T
he tribological behavior of the embedded composites was evaluated under dry
friction and lubricated with a bonded solid lubricating film outer-layer o
n a reciprocating friction and wear tester at ambient conditions. The morph
ologies of the worn surfaces and of the transfer films on the counterpart s
urfaces were observed with a scanning electron microscope. The tribological
behavior of the embedded composites was highly dependent on the hardness o
f the embedding materials. Friction and wear of Al alloy can be drastically
reduced by proper embedding, but embedding with solid lubricants such as g
raphite and PTFE does not help. Friction and wear behaviors were different
in sliding against Al and plain carbon steel. The observation of the worn c
omposite surfaces by SEM indicates that wear of Al-based composite blocks i
s characterized by plowing, severe adhesion, and plastic deformation. (C) 2
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