High temperature erosion of Ti(Mo)C–Ni cermets

The resistance of Ti(Mo)C–Ni cermets of different binder content to solid particle erosion was evaluated at 25, 350 and 650 °C. The elevated temperature erosion of cermets containing 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 wt.% of titanium carbides and produced from the powder of initially different ratios of Ni to Mo were tested with the help of specially designed centrifugal particle accelerator using silica as the abrasive. Erosion rate was related to both microstructure developed during sintering and materials removal mechanisms operating at the test conditions (impact angle of particles jet was 30° and 90° and velocity was 50 ms⁻¹). The erosion rate decreases with the increase of TiC and Mo contents in the composite. At 650 °C the process of tribo-oxidation affected the material performance to a great extent. The morphology of the worn surface was analyzed with SEM to determine the erosion mechanisms.