Dry wear response of a Zn-based alloy containing 37.5 % Al as affected by sliding conditions

This paper discusses the observations made pertaining to dry sliding wear characteristics of a Zn-based alloy at different sliding speeds and pressures. The wear rate increased with speed and pressure. The wear rate versus pressure plots attained two slopes wherein the slope was low up to a specific pressure followed by an increased slope at still higher pressures. This trend was observed at all the sliding speeds except the maximum; in the latter case one slope (identical to that of the higher slope at the lower speeds) only was noted. The seizure pressure was noted to decrease with speed. The temperature near the specimen surface increased with test duration, pressure and sliding speed. The rate of temperature increase was significantly high initially. This was followed by a lower rate of increase in temperature at longer test durations. In some cases, the rate of temperature increase became high once again towards the end of the tests. The influence of applied pressure and sliding speed on the temperature increase was practically identical to that on wear rate. Lower wear rate of the alloy agreed with less surface/subsurface damage and finer debris formation and vice versa.