Study of tribological and corrosion behavior of AA6061–SiC–WS₂/WSe₂ hybrid composites using the taguchi method

The present research reports our work on the design of Al6061 based hybrid metal matrix composites which we have included silicon carbide (SiC), tungsten disulfide (WS₂) and tungsten selenide (WSe₂) to improve the mechanical, tribological, and corrosion resistance which is a requirement for brake rotors, piston rings, and sliding bearings. Three composites Al6061, Al6061/14wt.%SiC/0.1wt.%WS₂, and Al6061/14wt.%SiC/0.1wt.%WSe₂ were fabricated using the stir casting technique. XRD analysis reported that the reinforcements are well distributed and present in all composites. Microhardness results indicated that the addition of reinforcements improved the composite performance, with Al6061/14 wt% SiC/0.1 wt% WSe₂ exhibiting the highest hardness. Experiments using sliding velocities of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m/s and normal forces of 10, 20, and 30 N, analyzed via Taguchi L27 and ANOVA, revealed that sliding speed was the dominant factor affecting wear rate and coefficient of friction (COF). The specific wear rate (3.228 × 10⁶ mm³/N·m) and lower COF of Hard SiC and lubricating WSe₂ of the Al6061/14wt%SiC/0.1wt%WSe₂ composite evidenced this. Corrosion studies showed that the composite exhibited a shift in corrosion potential (Ecorr) from − 744 to − 663 mV, a decrease in corrosion current density (Icorr) from 12.7 to 4.8 µA/cm², and a corresponding increase in protection efficiency of 61.6%. The regression model showed strong reliability (R² = 0.98) and a 10.26% deviation.