Investigations into the tribological properties of Titanium-dioxide alumina coated mild steel

Temperature and load are the two factors that have an influence over the way friction affects interacting material surfaces that are in relative motion. Surface interactions under higher temperatures result in accelerated wear rate and will result in a reduction of the overall life cycle of a mechanical part. Applying a suitable coating on these interactive surfaces could considerably improve the wear resistance of any material. In this study, mild steel specimens were coated with titanium dioxide alumina using the plasma arc spraying method. The tribological properties of titanium dioxide alumina coated mild steel specimens were investigated using various experiments like the wear resistance test and hardness test. A reciprocating wear testing machine was used to study the wear resistance of the coated mild steel spec-imens. During the wear test, coated mild steel specimens were subjected to different load conditions and temperatures. The tool with a bearing ball on the tip was slid on the sample surface and it was observed that the coefficient of friction is related to working temperature. Scanning Electron Microscope and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) revealed that the coating is intact even after conducting the rigorous wear test which confirms that the coating material has imparted good wear resistance to the specimens. From the results of the hardness test, it is evident that the hardness of the surface also influences the rate of wear. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the International Conference on Sustainable materials, Manufacturing and Renewable Technologies 2021.