Three-body abrasive wear of TiC–NiMo cermets

The mechanism of three-body abrasive wear of TiC-base cermets was studied. The wear rate of a series of cermets with different percentage of NiMo binder phase (20–60 wt%) was studied. Silica sand was used as an abrasive. The wear rate of the cermets decreases with the increase of TiC and Mo content, which corresponds to the increase in the bulk hardness. The post-run wear tracks of the worn blocks were analyzed with SEM. The material is removed by several processes such as extrusion and removal of the binder and also fractures of the carbide grains and the carbide network.