Wear of Ni3Al-based materials and its chromium-carbide reinforced composites

A number of laboratory studies have indicated that Ni3Al-based alloys have significant potential in wear-critical applications, especially in sliding wear in a temperature range between 400 and 650 °C. In this study, the wear behavior of an iron-alloyed Ni3Al with composition of Ni–18.8Al–10.7Fe–0.5Mn–0.5Ti–0.2B in atomic percentage and its composites reinforced by 6 vol.% Cr3C2-particles were investigated. Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and casting processes were applied for preparing the materials. The wear rate of the tested materials under different loads and their scuffing resistance were measured by means of the pin-on-disc method. Analytical SEM, EDS, and XRD techniques were used to observe the microstructures and identify the phase constitutions of the materials. The tribological performance related to the analytical results revealed that the single-phase Ni3Al-based alloy showed an improved scuffing resistance, compared to a duplex-phase microstructure. Also, the investigation indicated that the added hard Cr-carbide played a positive role for the tribological behavior of the intermetallics, especially in terms of reducing the wear rate.