Belt abrasion resistance and cutting tool studies on new ultra-hard boride materials

Composites of AlMgB₁₄ with 0, 30, and 70 wt% of TiB₂ were prepared by mechanical alloying and hot pressing. The composites’ belt abrasion resistance and cutting tool performance were measured by gravimetric analysis of material removal at varying loads and cutting speeds. AlMgB₁₄-70 wt% TiB₂ composites had high hardness and fracture toughness and the highest abrasive resistance of the three compositions. Cutting tool performance of AlMgB₁₄-70 wt% TiB₂ showed low wear due to chipping and little reaction with the Ti-6Al-4V work-piece. Subsurface damage and adhesion of the work-piece onto the tool material were gauged by SEM.     

Wear behaviour of Al/(Al2O3p+SiCp) hybrid composites

In this study, dry sliding metal–metal and metal–abrasive wear behaviours of the aluminium matrix hybrid composites produced by pressure infiltration technique were investigated. These composites were reinforced with 37 vol% Al₂O₃ and 25 vol% SiC particles and contained up to 8 wt% Mg in their matrixes. While matrix hardness and compression strength increased, amount of porosity and impact toughness decreased with increasing Mg content of the matrix. Metal–metal and metal–abrasive wear tests revealed that wear resistance of the composites increased with increasing Mg addition. On the other hand, abrasive resistance decreased with increasing test temperature, especially above 200 °C.     

Tribological behaviour of Si3N4 and Si3N4-%TiN based composites and multi-layer laminates

Si₃N₄-TiN based multi-layer laminates exhibit differences in residual stress between individual layers due to a variation of the thermal expansion coefficient between the layers. The residual stress distribution in these multi-layer laminates is known to improve the apparent macroscopic fracture toughness. In this work, the tribological behaviour of bulk, composites and multi-layers laminates are investigated. Si₃N₄ bulk, Si₃N₄ based composites with 10, 20 and 30 wt% TiN and different multi-layer laminates have been tested under dry conditions with reciprocal movement using a ball-on-block configuration. In particular, the influence of sliding directions with respect to the layer orientations has been investigated.The experimental results show that wear resistance increased with increasing TiN content in Si₃N₄-TiN composites. However, multi-layer laminates exhibit an up to three times higher apparent fracture toughness, but do not show an improvement of wear resistance compared to composites.     

Dry-Sliding Tribological Properties of Cu/AlMgB14 Composites

In this paper, Cu/AlMgB₁₄ composites with by weight percent, 5, 10 and 20 % of the AlMgB₁₄ (referred to CA-5, CA-10 and CA-20) were fabricated by hot-press sintering method. The mechanical and dry-sliding tribological properties of the three composites were investigated. The results indicated that the densities of the Cu/AlMgB₁₄ composites were lower than copper, whereas the hardness higher. The friction and wear behaviors of the composites were strongly dependent on the AlMgB₁₄ content. The friction coefficient was in the range of 0.73–1.0 for CA-5, but it was always steady at about 0.2 for CA-10 and CA-20. Accordingly, the increase in the AlMgB₁₄ concentration can improve the wear resistance of the composites.     

Scratch hardness and mechanical property correlation for Mg/SiC and Mg/SiC/Ti metal–matrix composites

Scratch hardness results conducted on magnesium based metal–matrix composites using submicron SiC (4.8–15.4 wt%) and micron sized Ti (2.7 wt%) particulates are presented. These results are further correlated with composites' bulk mechanical properties such as the normal hardness, the elastic modulus and the yield strength. The data show that the scratch hardness correlates well with the normal hardness and the elastic modulus as all of these parameters increase with an increase in the weight percent of the reinforcing particulates. The scanning electron microscopic study reveals that the composites have greater tendency to form brittle cracks at the edges and wear debris in comparison to pure Mg. The addition of 2.7 wt% of Ti marginally increases the scratch resistance of the composites.     

Wear Behaviour of In Situ Al/TiB<Subscript>2</Subscript> Composite: Influence of the Microstructural Instability

In this present work, the in situ Al (A380)/5 wt%TiB₂ composites were fabricated through salt–melt reaction using halide salts such as potassium hexafluorotitanate (K₂TiF₆) and potassium tetra fluoroborate (KBF₄) salts as precursors. The composites were produced at four different melt temperatures (700, 750, 800, 850 °C). The formation of particle was confirmed from XRD results. The wear behaviour of Al/5 wt% TiB₂ composite was investigated by varying the wear test parameters such as sliding temperature (25, 100, 150, 200 °C), applied load (10, 20, 30, 40 N), sliding velocity (0.4, 0.7, 1, 1.3 m/s). The microstructure of Al/5 wt% TiB₂ composite was correlated with the wear characteristics of the composites. The wear resistance of Al/5 wt% TiB₂ composite was significantly improved due to the presence of TiB₂ particle in Al matrix material. The composite produced at melt temperature 800 °C showed a higher wear resistance at applied load: 10 N, sliding temperature: 25 °C and sliding velocity: 0.7 m/s. The wear mechanism for each of the tested condition was identified from the worn surfaces using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). ANOVA test was carried out to find out significant factor for the wear resistance of composite. The checking of adequacy of experimental value for the wear behaviour of composite for different testing condition was analysed by residual plots using statistical software.     

Friction and Wear Behavior of AlMgB14–TiB2 Composite at Elevated Temperature

In this article, field-activated and pressure-assisted synthesis was employed to synthesize an ultra-hard, super-abrasive AlMgB₁₄–TiB₂ composite ceramic. The friction and wear performance of the AlMgB₁₄–TiB₂ composite were evaluated in ambient air at temperatures up to 800 °C by using a reciprocating ball-on-disk high-temperature tribometer. X-ray diffraction experiments were performed to study the crystal structure of worn surfaces of AlMgB₁₄–TiB₂ specimens at various temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive analysis were used to examine the worn surface features and chemical composition of the AlMgB₁₄–TiB₂ composite, respectively. Results showed that the friction coefficient of the AlMgB₁₄–TiB₂ composite ranged from 0.45 to 0.55 below 300 °C, while the data obtained at 500 and 600 °C were about 0.65. The damage mechanism is transformed from mild abrasive damage at room temperature to adhesive wear at elevated temperature. In the case of 800 °C, the AlMgB₁₄–TiB₂ composite exhibited the lowest friction coefficient as the formation of a lubricious oxide film on the wear track.     

Mechanical characterization of nanostructured TiB2 coatings using microscratch techniques

TiB₂-based nanostructured coatings were fabricated on high-speed steel by magnetron sputtering technique. Mechanical characterization of the resultant coating-substrate systems, such as coating adhesion, friction and scratch resistance, was conducted by microscratch technique. The linearly increasing load mode of microscratch test was studied to determine the most effective and informative testing conditions and to determine the critical load (Lc) for coating failure. The mode of failure was examined by high resolution SEM and AFM. In order to gain a better understanding of the scratch behaviour during the test, a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model was developed to simulate the scratch process. The developed FE model was able to demonstrate the elastic and plastic behaviour of the coating and substrate around the contact area during scratch test. Good agreement has been observed between the FE analysis results and experimental investigations.     

Effect of TiB2 particles on sliding wear behaviour of Al–4Cu alloy

Dry sliding wear of Al–4Cu–xTiB₂ (x = 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 wt.%) in situ composites have been studied in the peak-aged condition using a pin-on-disc wear testing machine at different loads. The composites were prepared by the reaction of a mixture of K₂TiF₆ and KBF₄ salts with molten alloy. The results indicate that TiB₂ particles markedly improve the wear performance of the Al–4Cu alloy. The wear resistance increases with increase in the amount of TiB₂. The load bearing capacity of the alloy during wear increases in presence of TiB₂ particles. Study of the wear surfaces and debris of both alloy and composites using the scanning electron microscope suggests that the improvement in wear resistance is mainly due to the formation of finer debris.     

Sliding wear behaviour of T6 treated A356–TiB2 in-situ composites

Dry sliding wear behaviour of A356–TiB₂ composites in T6 condition was tested using a pin-on-disc wear testing machine. The composites were prepared by the reaction of a mixture of K₂TiF₆ and KBF₄ salts with molten alloy. The wear tests were conducted at normal loads of 19.6–78.4 N and a sliding speed of 1 ms^?1. A detailed SEM study of wear surface and debris was carried out to substantiate the wear results. The results indicate that wear rate of the composites is a strong function of TiB₂ content rather than overall hardness of the composite. The role of Si and TiB₂ particles towards the overall mechanism has been discussed.     

Effect of graphite and granite dust particulates as micro-fillers on tribological performance of Al 6061-T6 hybrid composites

Aluminium and its alloys have an ever growing demand in many industries such as aerospace, automotive due to their high strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance. Our current work focuses on synthesis and tribological studies of precipitation hardened Al 6061–Gr_p–granite dust hybrid composites. Liquid stir casting technique is used for synthesis, precipitation hardening treatment imparted for maximising the hardness before subjecting to two-body sliding wear tests. The variation of wear for different levels of load, speed and composition along with SEM micrographs of the worn surfaces has been investigated. Hybrid combinations of granite dust (2 wt% and 4 wt%) with graphite (2 wt%) show higher tensile strength, hardness and significantly improved wear resistance as compared to the base alloy.     

Abrasion resistance of nanostructured and conventional cemented carbides

The abrasion resistance of nanostructured WC-Co composites, synthesized by a novel spray conversion method, is determined and compared with that of conventional materials. Scratching by diamond indenter and abrasion by hard (diamond), soft (zirconia) and intermediate (SiC) abrasives was investigated. The size of the scratch formed by the diamond is simply related to the hardness of the composite. Plastic deformation, fracture and fragmentation of the WC grains increase with their size. Nanoscale composites show purely ductile scratch formation. Nanocomposites possess an abrasion resistance approximately double that of the most resistant conventional material: this is a higher gain than the increase in hardness which is at most 23%. This large gain is due to a specific grain size effect on abrasion resistance in the case of diamond and SiC abrasive and to a very rapid increase of abrasion resistance with hardness in the case of the softer (SiC and ZrO₂) abrasives. The observation of the abraded surfaces of conventional composites reproduced the known mechanisms: plastic deformation and fracture of WC grains by hard abrasives; removal of binder phase and fall-out of WC by soft abrasives. Magnetic fields from the ferromagnetic Co prevent the observation of abrasion mechanisms in the very fine-structured nanocomposites.     

Mechanical and Tribological Behavior of Epoxy/Silica Nanocomposites at the Micro/Nano Scale

Micro/nano scale indentation and scratch tests were taken on the epoxy/SiO₂ nanocomposites by using Hysitron TriboIndenter system. The influences of the filling amount of nano-SiO₂ particles on the mechanical and tribological properties of the composites were studied. The indentation results show that the hardness and stiffness of the composites rise from about 0.1878 and 2.5134 GPa for the matrix to 0.2493 and 3.5117 GPa, respectively by the addition of nano-SiO₂. The scratch tests indicate that the proper amount of silica particles can effectively reduce frictional coefficient and scratch depth, consequently improve the tribological properties of the epoxy matrix. Combined with the scratch surface morphologies, the improvements of the tribological behaviors are analyzed and the friction mechanisms of the epoxy/SiO₂ nanocomposites are discussed.     

Cutting performance of Si<Subscript>3</Subscript>N<Subscript>4</Subscript> based SiC ceramic cutting tools

Composites of Si₃N₄-SiC containing up to 30 wt% of dispersed SiC particles were fabricated via hot-pressing with an oxynitride glass. To determine the effect of sintering time and SiC content on the mechanical properties and the cutting performance, the composites with fixed 8 hr-sintering time and 20 wt% SiC content were fabricated and tested. Fracture toughness of the composites increased with increasing sintering time, while the hardness increased as the SiC content increased up to 20 wt%. The hardness of the composites was relatively independent of the grain size and the sintered density. For machining heat-treated AISI4140, the insert with 20 wt% SiC sintered for 8 hr showed the longest tool life while the insert with 20 wt% SiC sintered for 12 hr showed the longest tool life for machining gray cast iron. An effort was made to relate the mechanical properties, such as hardness, fracture toughness and wear resistance coefficient with the tool life. However, no apparent relationship was found between them. It may be stated that tool life is affected by not only the mechanical properties but also other properties such as surface roughness, density, grian size and the number of the inherent defects in the inserts.     

Effect of densification and TiB2 reinforcement on the wear of molybdenum disilicide

Wear tests were done in a pin‐on‐disc machine by sliding MoSi₂ pins against hard‐steel discs in a normal load range of 5–140 N and a speed of 0.5 m/s under nominally dry conditions in the ambient. The specific wear rate of the pin undergoes two transitions: severe to mild at low load and mild to severe at high load. The mild‐wear domain is distinguished by the formation of a protective mechanically mixed layer of steel and its oxides, transferred from the counterface in particulate form. Increasing the hardness by densification and TiB₂ reinforcement lowers the specific wear rate and expands the mild‐wear load domain. However, even when the volume wear rate is normalised with respect to the real contact area (load/hardness) the non‐dimensional wear factor is still seen to decrease with densification and reinforcement. This indicates that fracture toughness may also play an important role in determining the wear‐resistance of these materials. The surface coverage on the pin by the mechanically mixed layer increases with densification and reinforcement. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Wear properties of two-phase Al2O3/ZrO2 (Y2O3) ceramics at temperatures from 296 to 1073 K

Reciprocating sliding friction experiments were conducted with various two-phase, directionally solidified Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ (Y₂O₃) pins sliding on B₄C flats in air at temperatures of 296, 873, and 1073 K under dry sliding conditions. Results indicate that all the Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ (Y₂O₃) ceramics, from highly Al₂O₃-rich to ZrO₂-rich, exceed the main wear criterion requirement of 10⁻⁶ mm³ N⁻¹ m⁻¹ or lower for effective wear-resistant applications. Particularly, the eutectics and Al₂O₃-rich ceramics showed superior wear properties. The composition and microstructure of Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ (Y₂O₃) ceramics played a dominant role in controlling the wear and friction properties. The controlling mechanism of the ceramic wear, friction, and hardness was an intrinsic effect involving the resistance to shear fracture of heterophase bonding and cohesive bonding and the interlocking microstructures at different scales in the ceramics.     

Sliding friction and wear performance of Ti6Al4V in the presence of surface-capped copper nanoclusters lubricant

The friction and wear properties of Ti₆Al₄V sliding against AISI52100 steel ball under different lubricative media of surface-capped copper nanoclusters lubricant—Cu nanoparticles capped with O,O′-di-n-octyldithiophosphate (Cu-DTP), rapeseed oil and rapeseed oil containing 1 wt% Cu-DTP was evaluated using an Optimol SRV oscillating friction and wear tester. The wear mechanism was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectrosmeter (XPS). Results indicate that Cu-DTP can act as the best lubricant for Ti₆Al₄V as compared with rapeseed oil and rapeseed oil containing 1 wt% Cu-DTP. The applied load and sliding frequency obviously affected the friction and wear behavior of Ti₆Al₄V under Cu-DTP lubricating. The frictional experiment of the Ti₆Al₄V sliding against AISI52100 cannot continue under the lubricating condition of rapeseed oil or rapeseed oil containing 1 wt% Cu-DTP when the applied load are over 100 N. Surprisingly, the frictional experiment of Ti₆Al₄V sliding against AISI52100 steel can continue at the applied load of 450 N under Cu-DTP lubricating. The tribochemical reaction film containing S and P is responsible for the good wear resistance and friction reduction of Ti₆Al₄V under Cu-DTP at the low applied load. However, a conjunct effect of Cu nanoparticle deposited film and tribochemical reaction film containing S and P contributes to the good tribological properties of Ti₆Al₄V under Cu-DTP at the high-applied load.     

Sliding friction and wear properties of CNX/TiN composite films

A combined dc magnetron sputtering and multi-arc deposition system was used to grow CN_X/TiN composite films on a high-speed-steel (HSS) substrate. The thickness of these films is about 3 μm, the hardness of the coating exceeds 50 GPa. The sliding friction properties were studied by ball-on-disc tests under different loads and speeds. The wear mode of the films was observed and analyzed. There exist spallation, abrasion and micro-ploughing wear modes under different loads. The critical load value was theoretically determined and tested to be 55 N. The results show that the alternating films have good wear resistance under heavy load and high speed.     

Wear characteristic of in situ synthetic TiB2 particulate-reinforced Al matrix composite formed by laser cladding

In order to improve the wear resistance of an aluminum alloy, an in situ synthesized TiB₂ particulate-reinforced metal matrix composite coating was formed on a 2024 aluminum alloy by laser cladding with a powder mixture of Fe-coated boron, Ti and Al was successfully achieved using a 3-kW CW CO₂ laser. The chemical composition, microstructure and phase structure of the composite clad coating were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), SEM, TEM and XRD. The nanohardness and the elastic modulus of the phases of the coating have been examined. The dry sliding wear behaviour of the coating was investigated using a pin-on-ring machine under four loads, namely 8.9, 17.8, 26.7, and 35.6 N. It has been found that the wear characteristics of cladding were completely dependent on the content and morphology of the TiB₂ particulate and intermetallic in the microstructure and the applied load. At the lowest load (8.9 N), with increasing content of TiB₂ particulate and intermetallic, the wear weight loss of the laser cladding was decreased. At higher loads (17.8, 26.7, and 35.5 N), the 2024 Al alloy exhibited superior wear resistance to the particle-reinforced metal matrix composite cladding.     

The Influence of the Matrix Microstructure on Abrasive Wear Resistance of Heat-Treated Fe–32Cr–4.5C wt% Hardfacing Alloy

The abrasion wear resistance of Fe–32Cr–4.5C wt% hardfacing alloy was investigated as a function of matrix microstructure. In this study, the alloy was deposited on ASTM A36 carbon steel plates by the shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process and the as-welded matrix microstructure was changed into ferrite, martensite, and tempered martensite by heat treatment processes. The Pin-on-disk test results show that under low (5 N) and high (20 N) load conditions, the wear resistance behavior of the as-welded matrix sample is 20 and 15% higher, respectively, than the martensitic matrix sample, although the bulk hardness of the as-welded matrix is 5% lower. The ferritic matrix sample has the poorest wear resistance behavior which is less than half of that of the as-welded matrix one. Micro-ploughing, micro-cutting, and micro-cracking are recognized as the micro-mechanisms in the material removal in which the proportion of micro-ploughing mechanism increased by increasing matrix toughness.