TRIBOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ALUMINIUM 8090 UNDER DIFFERENT LUBRICATING CONDITIONS

Abstract

The current study uses a Pin-on-Disc tribometer to evaluate the tribological performance of aluminium 8090 alloy against mild steel under various lubrication conditions. The main goal is to reduce wear loss by optimizing parameters in a methodical manner. Three different lubrication regimes were used for the experiments: dry, starved, and full flooded. In the latter two, synthetic oil was used as the lubricant. The "Smaller- the-Better" criterion was used to determine the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios, and the average S/N ratios for each factor level were used to validate the results. To ascertain the statistical significance of each component affecting wear loss, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was also performed. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to model and optimize wear behaviour under all three lubrication regimes in order to improve prediction and validation even more. All statistical analyses were carried out using Minitab 22 software. The results show that lubrication considerably lowers wear, with full flooded conditions yielding the greatest results. The two input parameters that had the most effects were load and speed. This thorough study offers a strong framework for tribological system optimization and offers insightful information for mechanical interface applications utilizing lightweight alloys like aluminium 8090.