Investigation on the role of microstructure and temperature on tribological characteristics of fine-grained ZE41 Mg alloy

In the current work, ZE41 Mg alloy was processed by friction stir processing (FSP) to achieve grain refinement. In addition to grain refinement, decreased intermetallic phase (MgZn) was also observed after FSP. Increased micro-hardness was observed for the processed ZE41 Mg alloy compared to the unprocessed base alloy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies demonstrated the texture characteristics in FSPed ZE41. Reciprocating wear studies conducted at three different temperatures, i.e. room temperature, 125 °C, and 250 °C showed lower mass loss for the processed alloy compared to that of the base alloy, particularly at elevated temperatures. This behavior can be understood by considering the benefit gained from the smaller grains and decreased amount of intermetallic phase in the processed alloy, which reduced the abrasion wear. Hence, the present study suggests that the grain refinement and decreased MgZn phase significantly improve the temperature-dependent tribological characteristics of ZE41 Mg alloy.