Wear and Corrosion of Cast Al Alloy Piston with and without Brake Oil

Abstract

The effects of wear and corrosion of cast AA6061 aluminium alloy were studied with and without brake fluid using a wear jig while the corrosion rate was determined in brake fluid for 70 days under two experimental set-ups. The tests, yielded 0.00000123 g/mm2/min highest wear rate at 147000 wear cycles and 0.0334 mg/mm2/yr as the highest corrosion rate within the early 39th day of immersion in oil, the values being considered comparatively lower than those obtained for Al alloy in most common wet abrasion test and corrosion in aqueous solutions as previously reported in literature. The material loss rates to wear and corrosion were determined from the equations relating to wear and corrosion based on the ASTM designations. The results show that the combined actions of wear and corrosion contribute to the total loss of piston material immersed in brake oil. This is greater than either of their effects individually on cast Al alloy in the brake oil.