Research on the high-temperature wear resistance of columnar network reinforce TiBw/TA15 composites with varying TiB volume fractions

Abstract

In order to further enhance the high-temperature wear resistance of titanium alloys, a columnar network distribution of TiB whiskers was introduced into TA15 titanium alloy to form high wear-resistant TiBw/TA15 composites. High-temperature wear experiments were conducted on composites with varying TiBw volume fractions to investigate the impact of the reinforcing phase volume fraction on the high-temperature wear performance of the composites, as well as the microstructural evolution behavior near the wear surface. Research results indicated that the high-temperature wear surface displayed phenomena such as plowing grooves, micro-cracks, and wear debris. These observations suggested that the high-temperature wear mechanism of the composites involved a combination of abrasive wear, adhesive wear, and fatigue wear. The high-temperature wear resistance of TiBw/TA15 composites increased with the content of the reinforcing phase. Specifically, when the TiBw content was 7.5 vol%, the wear rate of the composites was 8.9 × 10⁻⁶ mm³/(N∙m), representing a reduction of 78.4 % compared to that of 2.5 vol% composites. This improvement was attributed to the high concentration of TiB whiskers, which effectively enhanced the deformation resistance and hardness of the composites while refining the matrix grain size. These findings could provide a theoretical foundation for the application of titanium-based composites in high-temperature wear environments.