Friction behavior of Ti-30Fe composites strengthened by TiC particles

Ti−Fe−xTiC (x=0, 3, 6, 9, wt.%) composites were fabricated through low temperature ball milling of Ti, Fe and TiC powders, followed by spark plasma sintering. The results show that β-Ti, β-Ti−Fe, η-Ti4Fe2O0.4 and TiC particles can be found in the composites. The microstructure can be obviously refined with increasing the content of TiC particles. The coefficient of friction (COF) decreases and the hardness increases with increasing the content of TiC particles. The adhesive wear is the dominant wear mechanism of all the Ti−Fe−xTiC composites. The Ti−Fe−6TiC composite shows the best wear resistance, owing to the small size and high content of TiC particle as well as relatively fine microstructure. The wear rate of the Ti−Fe−6TiC composite is as low as 1.869×10−5 mm3/(N·m) and the COF is only 0.64. Therefore, TiC particle reinforced Ti−Fe based composites may be utilized as potential wear resistant materials.