Shuhai Huo, Bill Heath, Dave Ryan, Steve Patrick and Jesse Azzato
Conventional 2000 series aluminum PM materials have been widely used for pressed and sintered structural parts. The materials have excellent processing characteristics and reasonable tensile strength. However, wear resistance, fatigue strength and stiffness of the materials are relatively low. As many potential applications in automotive components are subjected to wear and cyclic load, improvement of the properties are of great importance. Incorporation of silicon and ceramic reinforcements into the PM aluminum materials improve the wear, stiffness and fatigue strength. The wear resistant aluminum PM materials are excellent candidates for replacing cast aluminums and some ferrous PM materials in applications where the wear and fatigue are critical. In this study, mechanical properties and wear resistance of the aluminum PM materials containing large amount of silicon or ceramic particulates were examined. PM parts made of the materials showed improved yield strength and excellent wear resistance. The materials have potential for a wide range of automotive applications.
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