Investigation of Specific Wear Rate and Wear Mechanism in Stir Cast Al5052 Composites with TiB₂ and ZrO₂ Reinforcements

In this work, Al5052 alloy was reinforced with varying weight percentages of titanium diboride (TiB) and zirconium dioxide (ZrO) to fabricate three hybrid composite samples (S1, S2, and S3) via the stir casting process.Dry sliding wear tests were conducted using a pin-on-disc apparatus under varying loads (10, 20, and 30 N) and sliding speeds (300, 500, and 700 rpm), with a constant sliding distance of 1500 m.The results showed that the specific wear rate (SWR) grew with increasing load, reaching a maximum of 3.45 10 mm/Nm for sample S1 at 30 N. Among the samples, S3 exhibited the best wear resistance, with the lowest SWR of 1.35 10 mm/Nm under identical conditions.SEM analysis revealed different wear mechanisms such as mild ploughing in S1, crack formation in S2, and plastic deformation in S3.These findings demonstrate that the hybrid reinforcement of TiB and ZrO significantly improves the wear resistance of Al5052, making it suitable for applications in automotive and aerospace sectors requiring enhanced surface durability.