Synthesis and tribological behaviors of Ti 3 SiC 2 material prepared by vacuum sintering technique

The bulk Ti 3 SiC 2 specimens with less than 1 wt% TiC impurity were prepared by vacuum sintering technique, and the average grain size was about 5–6 μm in the elongated direction. When the sintering temperature, soaking time and heating rate were 1 400 °C, 1 h and 10 °C·min −1 , respectively, the highest relative density of Ti 3 SiC 2 specimens could reach 97.8%. Meanwhile, the lowest coefficient of friction (COF) and wear rate (WR) of the Ti 3 SiC 2 samples were 0.55 and 1.37×10 −3 mm 3 (Nm) −1 at a sliding speed of 0.35 m/s, load pressure of 10 N and ambient condition, respectively. The COF of the Ti 3 SiC 2 sample reduced with the increasing of the load pressure, while the WRs fluctuated little. The WR increased with the increasing of the sliding speed, and weakly influenced the COF. These changing behaviors could be attributed to the presence and coverage of the amorphous mixture oxide film of Ti, Si, Al, and Fe on the Ti 3 SiC 2 friction surface. The self-antifriction mechanism led to reducing of the COF. The increasing of the WR was attributed to the wearing consumption.