Effect of Ultrasonic Surface Rolling on Tribological Properties of 7075 Aluminum Alloy for Yangqin Components

Yu Wang

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64486/m.66.1.14
Online publication date: July 15, 2026

Abstract: Lightweight metallic parts considered for auxiliary tuning or moving hardware in Yangqin instruments may experience sliding or rotational contact and therefore require adequate wear resistance. This study treats Yangqin as a potential application background and investigates 7075-T6 aluminum alloy after ultrasonic surface rolling process (USRP) under simplified laboratory contact conditions. Static pressure, rolling speed, indentation depth and rolling passes were evaluated, and rotational and reciprocating ball-on-disk tests were used as representative sliding modes rather than component-level validation. A rolling speed of 2000 mm/min, static pressure of 300 N, indentation depth of 0.10 mm and 8 passes produced a gradient nanostructured layer about 114 µm thick. Under these conditions, Ra decreased to (0.240 ± 0.009) µm and near-surface hardness increased to (230 ± 14) HV. The maximum numerical wear-volume reduction was 40.9 % in rotational sliding at 5 N and 41.0 % in reciprocating sliding at 10 N. ANOVA confirmed significant rotational wear-volume effects at 5 N and 10 N and a significant reciprocating effect at 10 N; lower-load trends were not significant. The optimized USRP condition promoted a more stable mechanical mixing layer and improved materials-level wear performance, providing a basis for future validation on Yangqin-related components.

Keywords: Yangqin; aluminum alloy; ultrasonic surface rolling process; friction and wear

This article is published online first and will appear in Metalurgija, Vol. 66, Issue 1 (2027).