Influence of Cr3C2 content on the wear properties of Cr3C2/Ni3Al composites

Journal article, 2016

The Ni3Al-alloy and its composites with different Cr3C2 contents were fabricated by a hot isostatic pressing (HIP) technique. The influences of Cr3C2 content on the microstructure, hardness and wear properties of the Cr3C2/Ni3Al composites were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and wear tribometry. The results show that inter-diffusion occurs between the original Cr3C2 and the Ni3Al particles during the HIP process and the Cr3C2 particles partially transform into M7C3 (M=Cr, Fe, Ni) structures. Under specific friction and wear conditions, the wear resistance of the Cr3C2/Ni3Al composites is significantly improved due to the addition of Cr3C2 particles by about 4-10 times, compared to the Ni3Al alloy. In addition, the cutting and scraping effects of counter-part disks by the Cr3C2/Ni3Al composites decreases with increasing Cr3C2 addition, resulting in a reduction in wear rate of counter-part disks.