TITLE:
Study the Effect of Polymeric Quenching on Wear Resistance of Eutectic Modified Aluminium – Silicon Alloy
AUTHORS:
Kahtan K. Al-Khazraji, Waleed A. Hanna, Osama S. Muhammed
KEYWORDS:
Al-Si alloy; polymer quenching; wear resistance.
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering,
Vol.10 No.10,
August
10,
2011
ABSTRACT: Polymer quenchants are being used increasingly in the heat treating industry. One reason for
this increase is the continual engineering advancements that facilitate their replacement for
quench oils and water. The physical properties of a polymer quench bath directly affect the
cooling rate of a quenched part. These properties include the type of quenchant,
concentration, and agitation. These parameters must be controlled to optimize the quenching
process in terms of alloy microstructure, properties, and performance. Such data is scarce
for cast aluminum alloys in the literatures and a quantitative measurement of the effects from
individual process parameter is not available. In this study a master alloy of modified
eutectic (Al-12%Si) was prepared and used. The specimens were quenched and heat treated
in distilled water, food oil, machine oil and (0.2-1.4) wt% concentrations of polyvinylalcohol
(PVA). The specimens are characterized for x-ray diffraction, microstructure, hardness, and
wear rate. The results had shown that the use of (0.6) wt% PVA revealed a maximum
hardness with a slight decrease in the wear rate, and a maximum decrease in the wear rate
was achieved when (1.2) wt % PVA was used compared to the reference cast alloy, also
results had revealed that the use of polymer quenchants affect positively well in the decrease
in the wear rate of the eutectic Al-Si alloy over the traditional quenching media.