Microstructures and Wear Behavior of the TiC Ceramic Particulate Locally Reinforced Steel Matrix Composites from a Cu–Ti–C System

摘要

The steel-matrix composites locally reinforced by in situ TiC particulates were successfully fabricated via the SHS-casting route using a Cu–Ti–C system. Effects of Cu content in the Cu–Ti–C system on the microstructure, hardness and wear behavior of the composites were investigated. The results showed that the locally reinforced regions in the steel matrix composites consisted mainly of TiC, Cu and austenite. The hardness and wear resistance of the locally reinforced regions were significantly higher than those of the matrix. With the increase in the Cu content, the hardness value decreased monotonically, while the wear resistance of the reinforced region first increased and then decreased. The composites fabricated using the 20–30 wt.% Cu–Ti–C system had the best wear resistance. The wear characteristics were micro-cutting and abrasive wear under the condition of low and/or moderate load (50–90 N). Moreover, with the increase in Cu content and the applied load (90–110 N), the adhesive wear could also be clearly observed on the wear surface of the test samples besides the micro-cutting and abrasive wear.