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Cylinder liner and piston ring materials play an important role in the tribological performance of engines. It is possible to reduce friction and wear of cylinder liner and piston ring by using wear resistant material. Compacted graphite iron finds increasing application as a liner material because of its high strength and good wear resistance. In this work, wear performance of two different grades of compacted graphite iron has been compared with that of gray cast iron liner material. Wear characteristics were evaluated using cylindrical specimens in a pin on disc sliding apparatus. High strength compacted graphite iron grade is found to have the best wear resistance among the three materials evaluated in this study. Increased volume fraction of pearlite enhances the wear resistance of high strength compacted graphite iron grade.

Aluminium metal matrix composites (MMC) are one of the most promising engineering materials being increasingly used in automobile industries for critical applications due to their enhanced mechanical and physical properties. In this present study, A356 aluminum alloy reinforced with SiC particle was made by stir casting process. The effects of different volume fractions of SiC particle reinforcement on microstructure and mechanical properties have been investigated. The yield and fracture strength increases with increase in volume fraction of SiC particulates, while ductility decreases. As compared to base alloy, 20% volume fraction of SiC reinforced composites showed 16% increase in tensile strength. Dislocation density, precipitation hardening and changes in grain size are the main mechanisms enhancing the mechanical properties of particulate reinforced composites.

Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) has emerged in the recent years as a technologically important engineering material. Heat treatment of ductile iron in a salt bath at a temperature range between 250 and 450°C produces ADI. The advantages of ADI are excellent strength, fracture toughness and wear resistance that suit the service conditions of automobile components. It is further considered as an economic substitute for forged steels in certain automobile components. In this present investigation, spheroidal graphite iron, with as-cast ferritic microstructure was cast into automobile components of two different thicknesses. The components were initially austenized and suitably austempered. The effect of austempering heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties were analyzed. The study demonstrates a significant improvement in the ferrite volume fraction and mechanical properties in thinner components.

Natural fiber composite is an emerging material for structural applications in automobile sector. Jute fiber is one of the important natural fibers that exhibit high strength and stiffness. Jute fiber has several advantages over other natural fibers [sisal, coir, cotton etc.] due to its low density, high tensile properties, Young's modulus and lower cost. The specific modulus of jute fiber is higher than that of glass fiber and modulus per cost of jute fiber is also high. In addition, the jute fiber production is less energy intensive than glass fiber composites. The present paper reports jute fiber characteristics and performance of jute fiber composite. The processing, structure and mechanical properties of the jute fiber composites are discussed.