Abrasive Size Effect on Friction Coefficient of AISI 1045 Steel and 6061-T6 Aluminium Alloy in Two-Body Abrasive Wear

In this study, the effect of abrasive particle size on the friction coefficient and specific cutting energy of AISI 1045 steel and 6061-T6 aluminium alloy in two-body abrasive wear was investigated. Abrasive wear tests using a pin on alumina paper were carried out using abrasive sizes between 16 and 192 mu m. The wear surface of the specimens was examined using SEM to identify the wear micromechanism and the type of microchips (wear debris) formed on the abrasive paper in order to correlate with the friction coefficient and the specific cutting energy values. Results show that the 6061-T6 aluminium alloy presents a higher friction coefficient than the SAE 1045 steel for every abrasive size tested. The friction coefficient increases linearly to 36 mu m and after that increases at a reduced linear rate and becomes constant above 116 mu m for both materials tested. The results show that there are two main energy-consuming mechanisms in friction measurements: plastic deformation and microchip formation. The specific cutting energy decreases with the increase in abrasive size and after 116 mu m become constant for the materials tested.