Effect of Normal Load and Sliding Distance on the Wear Behavior of NiTi Alloy

Effect of normal load and sliding distance on the room temperature dry sliding wear behavior of a Ti-50.3 at% Ni alloy against a bearing steel was studied. The wear tests were conducted using a pin-on-disk tribometer under normal loads of 20, 40, 50, 60 and 80 N for sliding distances up to 1000 m. The wear results showed that the wear rate of NiTi alloy decreased as the normal load increased from 40 N to 60 N. Formation of iron rich tribological oxide layers under the higher loads could be the main reason of decrease in the wear of NiTi alloy. Increasing the sliding distance decreased the wear rate of NiTi alloy under normal loads of 60 N and 80 N, which was attributed to the formation of more stable iron rich tribological oxide layers on the worn surfaces of NiTi alloy.