Wear and friction of a new wear-resistant material: TiNi-based composites

The equiatomic TiNi alloy exhibits an excellent wear resistance benefiting from its pseudoelasticity. The wear behavior of TiNi alloy was expected to improve further if hard particles were embedded in the alloy. The hard-phase particles may withstand the external load and the pseudoelastic matrix can absorb impact energy and accommodate a relatively large strain. TiNi-based composites, reinforced, respectively, with TiC and TiN particles were developed by using a vacuum sintering process. Sliding wear of the composites was evaluated. It was demonstrated that the composite exhibited an enhanced wear resistance with a considerable room for further improvement. Friction of the composites against steel under an oil-lubrication condition was also investigated. The correlation between the mechanical properties and wear and friction of the composites is discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.