Influence of Heat Treatment on Abrasive Wear Resistance of Silumin Matrix Composite Castings

The authors attempted at examining the effect of heat treatment on abrasive wear resistance of metal composite castings. Metal matrix composites were made by infiltrating preforms created from unordered short fibers (graphite or silumin) with liquid aluminium alloy AlSi12(b). Thus prepared composites were subject to solution heat treatment at a temperature of 520°C for four hours, then aging at a temperature of 220°C for four hours. Abrasion resistance of the material was tested before and after thermal treatment.