This research investigated the tribological performance of a composite material, formed from an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) matrix and quasicrystalline Al-Cu-Fe alloy powders. An evaluation was conducted for the microstructure, material properties, and tribological performance of quasicrystalline materials formed from Al-Cu-Fe alloys. Arc melting was used as the fabrication technique for these alloys, and some samples were additionally heat treated in an argon environment. Vickers microhardness testing was done to make comparisons to wear rate behavior of the various alloys. Tribological studies were conducted using a linear pinon- desk configuration to evaluate friction and wear.
Research indicated the annealed samples of Al-Cu-Fe that formed icosahedral quasicrystalline phases, where the quasicrystalline phase was most dominant of the observed alloys, displayed the greatest wear resistance and hardness. Abrasive wear was observed in each of the samples, as the brittle, hard nature of the quasicrystalline phase would not allow for the ductile adhesion. The addition of small amounts of Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystalline particles, crushed and pulverized from the arc-melted ingots, reduced the coefficient of friction and wear rate of UHMWPE, when added to the polymer.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/151114 |
| Date | 16 December 2013 |
| Creators | Nabelsi, Nezar |
| Contributors | Liang, Hong, Karaman, Ibrahim, Zou, Jun |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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