Effect of reinforcement size and volume fraction on the abrasive wear behaviour of AA7075 Al/SiC<inf>p</inf> P/M composites-A statistical analysis

In the present study, a new mathematical model was developed to predict the abrasive wear rate of AA7075 aluminum alloy matrix composites reinforced with SiC particles. Five factors, five levels, central composite, rotable design matrix was used to optimise the required number of experiments. The model was developed by response surface method. Analysis of variance technique was applied to check the validity of the model. Student's t-test was utilised to find out the significant factors. The effect of volume percentage of reinforcement, reinforcement size, applied load, sliding speed and abrasive size on abrasive wear behaviour was analysed in detail. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.