Effect of titanium diboride ceramic particles on mechanical and wear behaviour of Cu-10 wt% W alloy composites processed by P/M route

Hypothesis of this research focuses on evaluating mechanical properties and thereby determine optimized conditions for lessened wear rate of powder metallurgy processed Titanium diboride (TiB2) reinforced Cu-W alloy matrix composites. Tungsten and Titanium diboride powders were mixed with copper powder to the state of homogeneity by mechanical alloying method, compacted in a computerized hydraulic press and further sintered at 900 degrees C for 2 h under argon environment. SEM studies revealed that TiB2 particles were disseminated evenly in Cu-W alloy. The fabricated composites were subjected to EDS and XRD studies to confirm the presence of required elements and the occurrence of oxides formed while sintering. The impact of wear test input parameters on the wear rate was identified and the optimized parameter to attain low wear rate was determined through Taguchi and ANOVA analysis by using L16 orthogonal array. The hardness, impact strength, compressive strength, and wear resistance of the composites experience considerable enhancement, with the inclusion of TiB2 particles. The optimized parameters to achieve less wear rate was arrived as A(4)B(1)C(1)D(1) and the composite with 12 wt% TiB2 content subjected to 10 N load with 1 m/s velocity and 300 m sliding distance attained minimum wear rate.

Automated summary

The research focused on evaluating the mechanical properties of TiB2 reinforced Cu-W alloy matrix composites and optimizing conditions to reduce the wear rate. By using mechanical alloying and sintering methods, the composites showed enhanced hardness, impact strength, compressive strength, and wear resistance with the inclusion of TiB2 particles. The optimized parameters resulted in a composite with 12 wt% TiB2 content achieving minimum wear rate under specific test conditions.