Effects of CeO2 on microstructure, friction and wear properties of SiCp/Al-Si composites

SiCp/Al-Si composites with the addition of CeO2 were fabricated by powder metallurgy. The effect of CeO2 content on microstructures, friction and wear properties of the SiCp/Al-Si composites were investigated. The modification mechanism of CeO2 was also discussed in this paper. The results show that CeO2 can refine the precipitated silicon particles. When the content of CeO2 was 0.6%, the modification effect was the best. When the content of CeO2 was more than 0.6%, the reunion phenomenon of CeO2 gradually increased with the increase in the CeO2 content. When the content of CeO2 was 0.6%, the friction factor and friction force was the largest, the abrasion loss was the smallest. The wear mechanism of composite with varying contents of CeO2 was abrasive wear and the wear surface of composite with 0.6% CeO2 was the most smooth. © 2016, Thomas Telford Services Ltd, All rights reserved.