Elevated temperature sliding wear behavior of WCP-reinforced ferrous matrix composites

WCP-reinforced ferrous matrix composites were processed by direct addition of WCP (100-150 mu m) and the melt of the matrix alloy to a rotating mold at 1000 rpm. Dry sliding wear behaviors of the composites containing about 80 vol.% of WCP and high-speed steel counterpart were investigated at room temperature and 400 degrees C against a rotating die steel ring. And wear experiments were performed under loads of 50, 100, and 150 N and a fixed sliding velocity of 30 m/s. Results show that at room temperature, both materials exhibited a marked increase in wear rate with load applied. Wear rates of the composites and high-speed steel under loads of 50, 100, and 150 N at room temperature achieved 1.61 x 10(-6), 2.14 x 10(-6), 3.56 x 10(-6), and 3.11 x 10(-6), 23.08 x 10(-6), 57.39 x 10(-6) g/m, respectively. At a testing temperature of 400 degrees C, the composites exhibited a marked increase in wear rates and high-speed steel exhibited mild wear ( characterized by extremely low wear rates) over the range of loads considered in these experiments. Wear rates of both the composites and highspeed steel at 400 degrees C achieved 2.42 x 10(-6), 5.19 x 10(-6), 6.64 x 10(-6), and 4.1 x 10(-6), 8.92 x 10(-6), 26.02 x 10(-6) g/m, respectively, under different loads. Finally, the wear-mechanism was discussed in this article.