Sliding Wear Properties of Ti/TiC Surface Composite Layer Formed by Laser Alloying

Abstract

Titanium and its alloys have various excellent properties, such as good corrosion resistance and high specific strength. Yet the poor tribological properties of these materials have so far precluded their application to sliding parts under severe wear conditions.
Laser alloying is an effective process for improving wear resistance. This study was conducted to investigate the wear properties of Ti/TiC surface composite layer formed by laser alloying process of CP-Ti using graphite powder. Wear testing of the composite layer was carried out using a ball-on-flat type reciprocating wear tester.
A hardened steel ball for bearing use and an Al₂O₃ ball were used as counterface materials for the wear testing. The tests with the steel ball revealed preferential wearing of the hardened steel, with no observable scarring the Ti/TiC composite. In the tests with the Al₂O₃ ball, the wear scar on the Ti/TiC composite layer was deeper than the wear scar on a non-laser irradiated substrate.