Improving wear resistance of cast AZ91C magnesium alloy by surface melting techniques

• AZ91C cast magnesium alloy is an excellent candidate for automotive industries due to its low density. However, AZ91C alloy is not considered as suitable alloy for mechanical applications due to its low wear resistance property. In this present study, surface melting techniques were adopted to improve the wear resistance of AZ91C alloy. Gas tungsten arc with pulsing mode and pulsed laser surface melting techniques were carried out. The wear properties were evaluated from the pin-on-disc wear testing. The hardness values of the surface melted layers increased as compared with alloy in cast condition. The wear results showed that the surface melting processes has improved the wear resistance as compared with as cast. The improvement in wear resistance may be attributed due to grain refinement imparted by surface melting techniques. The wear rates of the alloy depend on hardness of alloy. The wear surface and wear debris were analyzed with optical microscopy, SEM along with EDS analysis and XRD studies for determining the mode of wear and wear mechanism. The worn surface analysis of surface melted samples were very smooth and granular peeling was hardly observed as compared to the generation of loose debris in the case of as cast alloy.

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