J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2022, Vol. 105: 142-152.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2021.06.076

• Research Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Heterostructured NiCr matrix composites with high strength and wear resistance

Xuan Konga, Yang Liub, Minghui Chena,*(), Tao Zhanga, Qunchang Wanga, Fuhui Wanga   

  1. aShenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
    bInstitute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
  • Received:2021-03-11 Revised:2021-06-27 Accepted:2021-06-29 Published:2021-09-20 Online:2021-09-20
  • Contact: Minghui Chen
  • About author:*E-mail address: mhchen@mail.neu.edu.cn (M. Chen).

Abstract:

Self-lubricating composites are required to have excellent tribological performances and good mechanical properties when they are applied as mechanic parts. However, the brittle nature of most lubricants will weaken the mechanical properties of the composites where in order to get the lubricating ability proper amount of lubricants are usually incorporated, bringing challenges for them to get well-balanced mechanical and tribological properties. In this study, NiCr matrix self-lubricating composites with the addition of WS2 and nano-Ti were prepared via spark plasma sintering. The hard phase of Ni3Ti and the lubricant TiS were formed via in-situ reaction at the interface, which surrounded the soft alloy matrix and developed a heterostructure. Compared with the conventional NiCr-WS2 composite, the heterostructured composite exhibited a high yield strength of 1645 MPa, a low friction coefficient of 0.37 and a wear rate of as low as 2.25 × 10-5 mm3 N- 1 m- 1 when sliding. Finite element analysis demonstrated that the heterostructure plays a key role to balance well the mechanical and tribological properties of the NiCr matrix composites.

Key words: Self-lubricating composites, Heterostructure, NiCr alloy, Mechanical properties, Tribology