Tribological behavior of a Ti42Nb42Mo6Fe5Cr5 complex concentrated alloy and prediction through response surface methodology based mathematical modeling

In the present work, a novel Ti₄₂Nb₄₂Mo₆Fe₅Cr₅ complex concentrated alloy (CCA) was developed using the vacuum arc melting technique. The as-cast CCA underwent a two-stage heat treatment process. In the first stage of heat treatment (HT 1), the alloy was heated to 900˚C. Subsequently, in the second stage of heat treatment (HT 2), the HT 1 samples were annealed at various temperatures, including 700˚C, 900˚C, and 1100˚C, for 20 h. The microstructure and mechanical response of the as-cast, HT 1 and HT 2 (annealed) samples were thoroughly investigated. The phase evolution, microstructure, and chemical composition were analyzed using XRD and SEM-EDS. The XRD analysis revealed major solid solution BCC phases (BCC 1 and BCC 2) with a small amount of Laves phase; however, the amount of Laves phase increased with increase in annealing temperature. The microhardness and elastic modulus of the CCA specimens were evaluated using instrumented micro-indentation. The CCA annealed at 1100˚C exhibits the highest microhardness and elastic modulus, with values of 5.94 ± 0.38 GPa and 124.40 ± 7.17 GPa, respectively. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to develop a mathematical model aimed at predicting tribological characteristics, specifically the specific wear rate (SWR) and coefficient of friction (COF). RSM proposes a quadratic model to represent the mathematical relationship between input parameters for evaluating SWR and COF. The desirability function approach is employed to optimize input parameters to minimize both SWR and COF. The optimized values of SWR and COF are 6.87 × 10⁻⁴ mm³/N.m and 0.30 under a 27.52 N load, 2.86 Hz oscillation frequency, and 1100˚C annealing temperature. Surface topography analysis of the worn surface was evaluated using SEM and a profilometer to understand the wear mechanism and surface characteristics.