Microstructure and wear behaviour of Al/SiC composite coating on AlZn5.5MgCu alloy substrate at different sintering temperatures

In recent years, significant research has been carried out for a long time on improving the mechanical properties of the surfaces of metallic materials with various surface coating methods. This study was conducted to investigate in detail the microstructure and wear behaviour properties of the coating, made by the hot press sintering method (HPSM), on AlZn5.5MgCu alloy. The coating layer was hot pressed for 25 min with Al+5%vol. SiC powder particles at sintering temperatures of 580, 600, and 620 degrees C under 120 MPa pressure. The microstructure of the coating produced at different sintering temperatures and the microstructures of the interface region and the substrate were analysed by optical microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Microhardness values were also measured on the coating layer and the linear reciprocating wear test was applied. The microstructure results indicated a homogeneous distribution of SiC particles in the Al powder. Also, the mass loss reduced and the microhardness values significantly raised due to the increase in sintering temperature values. It was seen that with this method, the coating thickness amount could be made in accordance with the desired value.