Tribology Letters, Vol. 17, No.

3, October 2004 ( 2004)

445

Aluminum metalmatrix composites for automotive applications: tribological considerations

S.V. Prasada,* and R. Asthanab
a

Principal Member of Technical Sta, Sandia National Laboratories, Materials & Process Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA b Associate Professor, Technology Department, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, WI 54751, USA

Received 28 December 2003; accepted 13 June 2004

Aluminum alloys possess a number of mechanical and physical properties that make them attractive for automotive applications, but they exhibit extremely poor resistance to seizure and galling. Reinforcement of aluminum alloys with solid lubricants, hard ceramic particles, short bers and whiskers results in advanced metalmatrix composites (MMC) with precise balances of mechanical, physical and tribological characteristics. Advanced manufacturing technologies such as squeeze inltration of molten alloys into ber performs can be employed to produce near net-shape components. Brake rotors, pistons, connecting rods and integrally cast MMC engine blocks are some of the successful applications of Al MMCs in automotive industry. This paper gives an overview of the tribological behavior of Al MMCs reinforced with hard particles, short bers, and solid lubricants, and the technologies for producing automotive parts from these novel materials. KEY WORDS: aluminum composites, wear, friction, automobile engine parts, tribology

1. Introduction We thank the Editors of Tribology Letters for giving us an opportunity to contribute to this special issue dedicated to Dr. Michael Gardos. One of the coauthors of this article (SVP) had his rst encounter with Mike Gardos at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, when the former came to the United States in early 1990 to pursue his research on tribology of metal matrix composites (MMC). Even before the pleasantries of introduction were complete, Mike jumped up and saidin typical Gardosian stylethat nobody in the right frame of mind would ever consider aluminum for applications involving sliding contact. At that time, Gardos was working for Hughes Aircraft Company, which was then owned by The General Motors Corporation. When Mike realized what the Japanese were up to in exploiting this technology for commercial applications (e.g., Sal reinforced Al MMC diesel engine pistons by Toyota, integrally cast Al MMC engine blocks by Honda, and Nissans AlSiC connecting rods), he quickly switched his role from that of a skeptic to a mentor, and remained a lifelong friend. In fact, Gardos rst instinct was absolutely correct, because aluminum exhibits poor resistance to seizure and galling [1]. However, aluminum alloys possess a number of characteristics that make them attractive for automotive applications: low density, good resistance to corrosion, low thermal expansion, and established casting
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: svprasa@sandia.gov

techniques for mass production [2]. Advances in the science of MMCs present us an opportunity to design light-weight aluminum based materials with precise balances of mechanical and physical properties, just as important the tribological characteristics. In this paper, we shall briey but critically review the current technology of Al MMCs with emphasis on the friction and wear behavior of aluminum composites that lead to the development of some of the most advanced automotive parts. 2. Historical perspective The tribological problems with aluminum alloys must also have crossed the minds of the Wright Brothers and their mechanic Mr. Charles Taylor during their attempts to develop a suitable engine for the rst powered airplane, exactly 100 years ago. Soon after mastering the ight dynamics from their glider experiments at Kitty Hawk, the Brothers began shopping for an engine that would develop eight to nine horsepower, weighing not more than 180 pounds, and be free from vibration [3,4]. So, essentially two new criteriahorsepower per unit weight of the engine, and damping capacityin mechanical design have emerged. When all the automotive manufacturers turned their request down, the Brothers approached Charles Taylor who came up with the idea of using the strongest aluminum alloy for the engine. It was extremely dicult to get good aluminum castings in those days, which was not an impossible task for
1023-8883/04/10000445/0 2004 Springer Science+ Business Media, Inc.

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Mr. Taylor. But he could not risk exposing aluminum to sliding contacts, precisely the same apprehension that Gardos had initially. So, the engine in the rst powered ight in aviation history ended up with gray cast iron cylinders threaded into an aluminum case with a water jacket [3,4]. The judicious use of aluminum and gray cast iron had given an extra leverage of 150 pounds, which the Brothers used to strengthen the wings and frame. The saga of aluminum engine blocks with cast iron liners in mass produced automobiles has continued to this day.

2.1. The legacy of the vega engine In the late 1960s General Motors came up with a revolutionary concept (by automotive standards) and introduced die-cast aluminum cylinder blocks without cast iron cylinder liners in their Vega engines [5]. The cylinder blocks, which were cast from a hyper eutectic AlSi alloy (1618% Si and 45% Cu), were acid etched to remove aluminum from the surface, leaving primary and eutectic silicon standing proud of the matrix. Further, the piston skirt was plated with iron to prevent aluminum from smearing the cylinder in harsh driving conditions when the contact is starved of uid lm lubrication. From the tribology point of view, this was truly a novel engineering concept to exploit the strengths of aluminum by masking its tribological limitations. However, as we all know, the Vega engine lasted only a few years with a disappointing service record; its problems perhaps lie elsewherespecically its inability to dissipate frictional heat away as quickly as possible. The issue of heat dissipation has been successfully overcome in modern MMC engines by the incorporation of carbon bers [6].

3. Self-lubricating Al MMCs It is well recognized that when a soft metal like aluminum slides on hard steel without any external uid or solid lubrication, the former is expected to ow and adhere to the latter, creating an interface of low shear strength. The transfer of aluminum on steel ball during a typical ball-on-disk friction test (gure 1) supports this hypothesis [1]. Transfer of aluminum will continue with sliding, and wear debris may form as a result of ploughing of the soft aluminum surface by the asperities of the hard steel, or aking o of patches from the

Figure 1. Smearing of Al on the steel ball during a ball-on-disk friction and wear test. (a) SEM image, and (b) Al X-ray map (200).

transfer lm [1]. Friction coecient between aluminum and steel couples is high, 0.50.6 [7]. The development of aluminum MMCs dispersed with solid lubricants is primarily directed towards overcoming the principal drawbacks of aluminum as a tribological material. Rohatgi and coworkers [812] rst introduced graphite as a solid lubricant in aluminum matrices by casting routes, involving mixing the molten alloy with graphite particles to make a uniform suspension and followed by casting. The problem of graphite rejection by liquid aluminum is always faced here, caused by density dierences (Al: 2.7 g/cc, graphite: 2.3 g/cc) and poor wettability between the two. These problems have been overcome to a large extent at the laboratory scale by the use of metal coatings (e.g., Ni and Cu) on the particle of graphite, and by the addition of reactive elements (e.g., Mg and Ti) to the melt [see Ref. 13 for a summary]. This work was subsequently extended to other solid lubricant dispersions but AlGraphite by far has the most potential for commercial applications. There have been a number of publications in the literature on the sliding wear and friction of Al alloy graphite composites [1425]. Unfortunately, dierent investigators have used dierent experimental parameters for hardness and roughness of the counterface, sliding speed, load and the test environment, making it dicult to quantify the eect of graphite content. In addition, comparing empirical wear data to theoretical generalizations of wear behavior is often dicult because of the widely dierent test conditions employed by dierent investigators to characterize the tribological properties of composites. In spite of a lack of universal testing procedure, useful generalizations concerning wear behavior of dierent materials, including composites, have been applied by constructing wear mechanism maps [2631]. Wear maps serve as predictive tools to draw meaningful conclusions relative to wear behavior under dierent test conditions. Specically, some of the variations between dierent studies can be overcome by utilizing normalized test parameters such as non-dimensional wear rate, load, and sliding velocity. Prasad and Rohatgi [17] have introduced normalized wear rate (i.e., composite to the base matrix alloy) to analyze the data from dierent studies. Figure 2 is a compilation of the normalized wear data on Al alloygraphite composite showing the reduction in wear volume due to graphite particle dispersion. Compared with wear data, studies on friction behavior of Algraphite composites are less numerous. Al alloygraphite composites typically exhibit much lower friction coecient compared with that of the matrix alloy (gure 3). The coecient of friction decreases considerably, up to about 3% by weight of graphite, and thereafter remains constant at about 0.2 (0.5 on a normalized scale). Although there is a

S.V. Prasad, R. Asthana/Tribology of aluminum composites

0.9 0.8
Al-7.2Si-1.8Ni, ref. [17] Al-4.5Cu, ref. [17] Al-17Si-4.5Cu-0.5Mg (LM30), ref. [15] Al-12Si, ref. [23] Al-17Si, ref. [25] Al-4Si, ref. [17] Al-11Si-1.5Cu-1.5Ni (LM13), ref. [15]

447

Normalized Wear Rate

0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 2 4

10

12

Volume fraction graphite, %

Figure 2. Normalized wear rate of Algraphite composites.

wealth of data on the tribology of Al alloygraphite composites, most authors have not reported the environment (specically the dew point, and oxygen content) in which their measurements were made; it is rather ironic considering the fact graphite loses its lubricating behavior in vacuum and dry environments, since the complete absence of adsorbed vapors makes it dicult to shear its layers.

in imparting superior bearing performance to AlSi alloys that are of interest to automotive industry. Heat treatment also plays role in determining the Pv limits, specically the eects of matrix microstructure (notably silicon morphology) and hardness of the matrix alloy. The seizure resistance of AlSi alloygraphite MMCs was found to be superior to that of the matrix [15,16]. Rohatgi and Pai [9] have used the bearing parameter ZN/P (where Z is the coecient of viscosity, N is the speed and P is the bearing pressure) to characterize the tribological performance of Al alloy graphite composites. Minimum bearing parameter, i.e., the extent to which a specimen is able to run without seizure has been used to assess the seizure resistance of the materials. The lower the value of the bearing parameter, the greater the degradation of lubrication conditions. The minimum bearing parameter decreases with increasing graphite content up to 2 wt% and above this value, remains constant. Thus, 2 wt% graphite in Al alloys will enhance the seizure resistance thus enabling the material to run under boundary lubrication conditions.

3.2. Transition metal dichalcogenides as built-in solid lubricants Transition metal dichalcogenides such as molybdenum disulde and tungsten disulde are also well known for their lubricating behavior. In applications involving vacuum or dry environments, MoS2 and WS2 perform far superior to graphite. The major problem associated with the use of transition dichalcogenide family of solid lubricants in Al MMCs is their thermal stability and reactivity with molten Al. One has to adapt low temperature powder metallurgy or isostatic pressing techniques for fabricating Al MMCs dispersed with transition metal dichalcogenides. Sintered Al MMCs reinforced with WS2 particles were

3.1. Bearing performance The measure of performance of a bearing is load P (or more accurately, stress) multiplied by linear velocity, v. This is designated Pv. Das and Prasad [15] have employed similar concepts to evaluate the potential of near eutectic and hypereutectic AlSi alloys dispersed with graphite for bearing applications. The tests were performed with a pin-on-disk tribometer in partially lubricated conditions to determine the load at which the material begins to seize at a given sliding velocity. Their results (gure 4) conrmed the role of graphite

1.2
Al-Si-graphite, ref. [14]

Normalized Coefficient of Friction

1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 5 10 15 20 25

Volume Fraction Graphite, %

Al-graphite, ref. [22] Al-8Si-graphite, ref. [19] Al-10Si (LM6)-graphite,as-cast, ref. [15] Al-10Si (LM6)-gr, modified, ref. [15] Al-10Si (LM6)-gr, heat tr., ref. [15]

Figure 3. Normalized coecient of friction of Algraphite composites.

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10

Pressure, MPa

6
LM 6 (modified)

LM 6 (heat treated) LM 6-3% graphite LM 6-3% Gr. (modified) LM 6-3% Gr. (heattreated) LM 6(as cast)

0 0 1 2 Velocity, m/s 14 12 10 Pressure, MPa 8

LM 30-graphite

6 4 2 0 0

LM 30-graphite (heat treated)

LM 13

LM 13 (heat treated)

LM 13-graphite

LM 13-graphite (heat treated)

LM 30

Velocity, m/s

Figure 4. The pressurevelocity plots for seizure of Algraphite composites [15,16] (alloy composition: LM6: Al10Si0.2Cu0.5Fe0.2Mn; LM13: Al11Si1Cu1Mg1.5Ni0.8Fe; LM30: Al17Si4.5Cu0.5Mg0.1Ni0.3Fe.

reported to have self-lubricating behavior with friction coecients ranging from 0.05 to 0.10 [7].

AlSi alloygraphite composites sliding against steel counterfaces [16,17].

3.3. The role of transfer lms The formation of third bodies or triboinduced lms as a result of sliding between a pair of contacting surfaces in reducing friction and wear is well recognized. During sliding contact, transfer and back transfer of material between contacting sliding surfaces can occur. In many instances, chemical reactions amongst the sliding surfaces and the surrounding environment are inevitable. In the case of self-lubricating Al MMCs dispersed with solid lubricants, the formation of solid lubricant-rich lms on the wear surfaces usually occurs. During dry sliding contact, formation of graphite rich lms has been observed in the case of

4. Abrasion resistant MMCs Abrasion is the removal of material from a relatively soft surface by the ploughing or cutting action of hard grit particles. Reinforcing aluminum alloys with hard ceramic particles (e.g., SiC, Si3N4, B4C, TiB2, Al2O3, SiO2, glass, zircon, y ash, and shell char), and short bers or whiskers improves the abrasion resistance. Most studies have focused on the tribological performance of Al/SiC [3248, D.M. Schuster, Private Communication] and Al/Al2O3 [4958] composites, although other hard particles such as zircon [59,60], y ash [61], TiB2 [62,63], and TiC [63] also have been dispersed in Al to improve its wear resistance. The test

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449

(a) 1. 2
Al-4.5Cu-1.5Mg-SiC, cast, ref. [49] Al-4.5Cu-1.5Mg-SiC, heat tr., ref. [49] 1

Normalized Wear Rate

Al-Mg-Alumina, ref. [17] Al-Mg-Zircon, ref. [17] 6061Al-Alumina (T6), ref. [41]

0. 8

0. 6

0. 4

0. 2

0 0 10 20 30 40

Vol. pct. reinforcement

(b) 1.2

Normalized Coefficient of Friction

0.8

0.6 Al-4.5Cu-1.5Mg-SiC (cast), ref. [49] Al-4.5Cu-1.5Mg-SiC (heat tr.),ref. [49] Al-SiC, ref. [64] Al-B4C, ref. [64] Al-TiB2, ref. [64] Al-TiC, ref. [64] Al-1.5Mg-SiC, ref. [35] 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

0.4

0.2

Vol. pct. reinforcement

Figure 5. (a) Normalized abrasive wear rate, and (b) normalized coecient of friction of some Al composites reinforced with hard particles.

parameters such as load, speed, the type of abrasive, abrasive size and shape, and whether the abrasive particles are free to rotate or xed to a sheet determine the mechanism and therefore the abrasion resistance of the material. Like in the case of sliding wear and friction, making absolute comparisons from various reports is rather dicult, since no universal test procedure has been employed to evaluate the abrasion resistance of composites. The normalized abrasion rates (wear rate of composite/wear rate of the matrix alloy) decrease as the vol.% of the hard phase increases (gure 5(a)). Typically, signicant improvements in abrasive wear behavior occur above about 20 vol.% of the hard phase reinforcement. Likewise, the normalized coecient of friction of the Al matrix decreases with increasing additions of hard particulates (gure 5(b)). The ductile aluminum metal matrix composite is usually worn away rst by the cutting or ploughing of the abrasive (or the asperities on the hard counterface) leaving the protrusions of the hard second phase parti-

Figure 6. Schematic illustration of (a) a steel ball sliding on an etched surface of an AlSi alloy ber composite. In this case, protrusion of spheroidized silicon particles and ceramic bers prevent the contact between steel and Al in the composite, and (b) hard second phase particles protecting the ductile matrix from abrasion.

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cles or short ber reinforcements. Beyond a certain critical volume fraction of the second phasespecically the interparticle spacing in relation to the size of the abrasive particlesthe hard-phase protrusions will completely protect the matrix from further abrasion, as shown schematically in gure 6. The hard phase is typically brittle, and will be abraded by progressive events until the softer aluminum matrix is exposed to the matrix. The role of the aluminum matrix must not be underestimated. It provides support to the hard phase reinforcements and imparts ductility to the MMC. If it provides insucient support, the unsupported hard phase edges become susceptible to fragmentation or pull-out of the surface.

5. Applications In addition to suitable friction and wear characteristics, a material for a tribocomponent (whether a bearing or a brake lining) must possess a precise balance of physical and mechanical properties: thermal expansion, damping capacity, conformability, strength, stiness and fatigue life. Incorporation of particles with aspect ratios (length to diameter ratio) of near unity in aluminum alloy matrices typically results in a decrease in many of these properties, and this can be oset by a judicious use of short ceramic bers or whiskers with aspect ratios over 200. Similarly, one could achieve the desired coecient of thermal expansion by reinforcing with carbon or other bers. Tables 1 and 2 summarize some physical and mechanical properties of common reinforcement materials and cast Al MMCs. Typical microstructures of the pressure cast Al MMC reinforced with short carbon bers and SiC particulates are shown in gure 7. In the automotive industry, the major driving forces for developing and implementing new materials and manufacturing technology are fuel economy, reduced vehicle emissions, and increased vehicle safety at competitive cost. Light-weight materials such as Almatrix

composites permit lighter engine and structural components with improved properties and performance to be designed and used in automobiles. Whereas the discontinuously-reinforced MMCs as a new material class has been in development for over four decades, the enabling technologies for their widespread implementation in the automotive components gained ascendancy only in the last decade. This is because strategies to design, produce, fabricate, nish and recycle the components made out of the new material usually require modication and adjustment in the time-honored strategies that have evolved for conventional materials. Over the last decade, the enabling technologies to produce components from Al-based MMC materials have matured to a level where commercialization of products made from the new material has become feasible [6477]. The auto industry has successfully applied Al-based particulate composites, chiey SiC/Al and Al/Al2O3, in pistons, engine blocks, disc rotor brakes, drums, calipers, connecting rods, drive shafts, snow tire studs and other

Table 2. Physical and mechanical properties of Al composites [Duralcan]. Composite Y.S., MPa 296 317 359 342 405 430 483 476 483 490 405 287 329 336 208 260 UTS, MPa 338 359 379 364 460 515 517 503 503 630 560 308 336 357 236 328 % Modulus, Elongation GPa 7.5 5.4 2.1 3.2 7.0 4.0 3.3 2.3 1.0 24 7.0 0.6 0.3 0.4 1.0 2.5 81 87 98 91 98 115 84 92 101 116 105 82 91 98 54 80

6061/Al2O3/10p (T6) 6061/Al2O3/15p (T6) 6061/Al2O3/20p (T6) 6061/SiC/15p (T6) 6061/SiC/20p (T4) 6061/SiC/25p (T4) 2014/Al2O3/10p (T6) 2014/Al2O3/15p (T6) 2014/Al2O3/20p (T6) 2124/SiC/25p (T4) 2124/SiC/20p (T4) A356/SiC/10p (T61) A356/SiC/15p (T61) A356/SiC/20p (T61) AZ91/SiC/15p AZ61/SiC/20p

Table 1. Representative properties of selected reinforcements for cast composites. Reinforcement Borsic (SiC-coated B) Sapphire PRD 166 (Al2O3/ZrO2) Nextel 480 PAN high str. C PAN high modulus Cf SiC whisker Al2O3 Sal Al2O3 FP SiC Nicalon Precipitator y ash Cenosphere y ash Fiberfrax Density (kg.m)3) 2710 4000 4200 3050 1700 1900 3200 3300 3900 2550 16002600 400600 2730 Tensile strength (MPa) 3100 2000 2500 2275 35005000 23003000 21000 >2000 13802070 24803240 1600 Elastic modulus (GPa) 400 470 385 224 240300 350450 840 300 380 179207 143310 104 CTE (10)6 K)1) 5.0 6.26.8 )0.75 )1.15 7.4 3.1

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Figure 7. Microstructures of pressure-cast Al MMCs reinforced with (a) short carbon bers (1000), and (b) SiC particulates (400).

parts. Most notable example is the development of the all aluminum engine block by Honda [6] in the early 1990s. Here the Honda has produced a thin-walled cylindrical ceramic perform made of hybrid material made of short alumina and carbon bers, and squeeze inltrated molten aluminum alloy to produce the engine block. The new engine block features is more compact with signicant weight reductions compared with cast iron engine blocks and those made of aluminum alloy with cast iron liners, thus providing higher performance. Reinforcement alone will not suce to produce an innovative part. The cast MMC part has to be heat treated to obtain the desired microstructure of the matrix alloy, specically the morphology of silicon. Special honing techniques may also be necessary to etch the aluminum from the surface so that it is not directly exposed to the piston rings. Table 3 lists the other proven applications of some MMCs in the automotive industry. Diesel engine pistons containing Sal (Al2O3) short bers have been in use by Toyota since 1985. Reinforcing piston crown with a MMC reduces the piston thickness at the crown and the overall piston weight. Additionally, the ceramic reinforcement reduces heat losses because of its high thermal resistance. Composite liners have better scung characteristics than conventional cast iron liners of the engine block. Aluminum composites have superior thermal conductivity and lower density than cast iron, and this has been protable in disc brake rotors. In the context of heat dissipation, it is worth noting that AlSi alloys are the most widely used matrix alloys for Al MMCs. Although aluminum is a good thermal conductor, silicon is not, and automotive manufacturers (e.g., Honda) did not utilize hypereutectic (high silicon) alloys. Second, control of composition and reinforcement content allows thermal management of the expansion behavior of the MMC. Extensive tests on SiC/Al composites for brake rotors have been done, and over a million miles of sat-

Table 3. Selected cast composite components with proven applications. Manufacturer Duralcan, Martin Marietta, Lanxide Duralcan, Lanxide GKN, Duralcan Nissan Dow Chemical Toyota Dupont, Chrysler Hitachi Associated Engineering, Inc. Martin Marietta Zollner Honda Lotus Elise, Volkswagon Chrysler GM MC-21, Dia-Compe, Manitou 3M Knorr-Bremse; Kobenhavn Alcoa Innometalx Lanxide Cercast Textron Specialty Materials Component and composite Pistons, Al/SiCp Brake rotors, calipers, liners, Al/SiCp Propeller shaft, Al/SiCp Connecting rod, Al/SiCw Sprockets, pulleys, covers, Mg/SiCp Piston rings, Al/Al2O3 (sal) & Al/ Boriaw Connecting rods, Al/Al2O3 Current collectors, Cu/graphite Cylinders, pistons, Al/graphite Pistons, connecting rods, Al/TiCp Pistons, Al/berfrax Engine blocks, Al/Al2O3 Cf Brake rotors, Al/SiCp Brake rotors, Al/SiCp Rear brake drum for EV-1, driveshaft, engine cradle, Al/SiCp Bicycle fork brace and disk brake rotors, Al/SiCp Missile ns, aircraft electrical access door, Al/Nextelf Brake disc on ICE bogies, SiC/Al Multichip electronic module, Al/SiCp PCB Heat sinks, Al/SiCp Electronic packages, Al/graphite foam PCB heat sinks, Al/B

isfactory performance has been achieved in rear brake rotors. These rotors have been specied for Lotus Elise, Chrysler Plymouth Prowler, and General Motors EV-1. Projections on the use of Al composites in the brake and engine components of Partnership for New Generation Vehicle (PNGV) program are for 7.7 kg of the roughly 910 kg total, or about 1%. [72]. Aluminum composite brake rotors provide up to 60%. weight reduction when compared to cast iron [73]. Under both sliding and abrasion wear, MMC

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displays lower wear rate which decreases as the reinforcement content increases. Depending upon the particle loading, abrasive wear rates are reduced 5590% when compared to the wear rate of unreinforced Al, and at approximately 20 vol.%. SiC in Al, Al composite brake rotors have lower wear rate than cast iron [73].

6. Summary Key applications of Al MMCs have already been explored by the highly progressive automotive industry. The emphasis has been on developing aordable Al MMCs, reinforced with SiC and Al2O3, that will reduce the weight and increase the engine eciency, and thereby reduce fuel consumption and vehicle emissions. Replacing cast iron engine components with light-weight Al alloys requires overcoming the poor adhesion and seizure resistance of Al by dispersing SiC, Al2O3 or graphite particles in Al. Considerable reduction in wear and friction is achieved by use of these particulates. Furthermore, increased cylinder pressures (and therefore, higher engine performance) are possible because Al MMCs can withstand high mechanical and thermal loads, and reduce heat losses by permitting closer t that can be achieved because of lower thermal expansion coecient of Al MMCs.

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