Wear behaviors of WC and TiC on co matrix composites under three-body impact abrasive wear condition

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the tribological properties of the WC/TiC-Co substrate under different loading conditions under three impact abrasive wear conditions. Design/methodology/approach The three body collisional wear behavior of Co alloy with WC and TiC at three impact energy was studied from 1 to 3 J. Meanwhile, the microstructure, hardness, phase transformation and wear behavior of these specimens were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, Rockwell hardness (HRV), EDS and impact wear tester. The resulting wear rate was quantified by electronic balance measurements under different pressures. Findings The specific wear rate increases with the increase of the nonlinearity of the impact energy and the increase in the content of WC or TiC. The effect of TiC on wear rate is greater than that of WC, but the hardness is smaller. The wear characteristics of the samples are mainly characterized by three kinds of behavior, such as cutting wear, abrasive wear and strain fatigue wear. The WC-Co with fewer TiC samples suffered heavier abrasive wear than the more TiC samples under both low and high impact energy and underwent fewer strain fatigue wears under high impact energy. Originality/value The experimental results show that the wear resistance of the Co alloy is improved effectively and the excellent impact wear performance is achieved. The results can be used in cutting tools such as coal mine cutting machines or other fields.