Dry sliding wear behaviour of TiC/Fe composites fabricated by exothermic dispersion of Fe–Ti–C powders

Abstract

The dry sliding wear behaviour of TiC/Fe composites was investigated. The wear surfaces of the composites were characterised by scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope. It was found that the mass losses of the composites increased with the increase in the applied load, but decreased slightly with the increase in the sliding velocity. The friction coefficient of the composites increased with the rising of the applied load. However, its fluctuation over the sliding distance decreased gradually with increasing load. In comparison, when the sliding velocity increased, both the friction coefficient and its fluctuation decreased. With the increase in the TiC reinforcements, the adhesive wear of the composites decreased, but the abrasive wear increased.

Keywords:

• In situ iron matrix composite
• Sliding wear
• Friction coefficient
• Wear properties
• Wear mechanism

Acknowledgements

This research work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 51371098). Z. Xie acknowledges the financial support provided by the start-up grant of the University of Adelaide, South Australia.