One of the main criteria for the establishment of the performance of a forming process by material removal is based on cutting tool wear. Wear is usually caused by different mechanisms, however, only one is usually considered as predominant or the controller of the process. This experimental research is focused on the application of Pin-on-Disc wear tests, in which the tribological interference between UNS A92024-T3 Aluminum⁻Copper alloy and tungsten carbide (WC⁻Co) has been studied. The main objective of this study is focused on the determination of the predominant wear mechanisms involved in the process, as well as the characterization of the sliding and friction effects by using SEM and Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy (EDS) techniques, as applied to WC⁻Co (cutting tool material)/Al (workpiece material) which are widely used in the aerospace industry. Performed analysis prove the appearance of abrasive wear mechanisms prior to adhesion. This fact promotes adhesion mechanisms in several stages because of the surface quality deterioration, presenting different alloy composition in the form of a Built-Up Layer (BUL)/Built-Up Edge (BUE).
Keywords: UNS A92024; WC–Co; adhesion; tribology; wear mechanism.