Influences of porosity on mechanical and wear performance of pseudoelastic TiNi-matrix composites

Pores usually exist in sintered tribo-composites and may strongly affect the performance of the composites. In this work, the influence of pores on the wear behavior of sintered pseudoelastic TiNi-matrix tribocomposites was investigated. In particular, changes in the density of pores and corresponding variations in wear resistance of the composites were studied. It was demonstrated that mechanical properties and the wear resistance of the composites were strongly affected by voids. The wear resistance was enhanced when the density of pores was reduced by using wax to enhance the compaction during pressing. It was also interesting to observe that pores are sealed during the wear process. This results in improving wear resistance during wear, especially under high loads. Some other contributing mechanisms are also discussed.