Effect of Tribofilm Induced by Nanoparticle Addition on Wear Behavior of Titanium-Matrix Composite

Sliding wear tests of a titanium-matrix composite (TMC) against M35 steel were performed at room temperature. To improve the wear performance of the TMC, an attempt was made to induce a protective tribofilm by artificially supplying nanoscale materials, viz. multilayer graphene (MLG), Fe 2 O 3 , and their composite and mixture, onto the sliding tracks. Irrespective of the load, MLG or Fe 2 O 3 additives could hardly improve the wear performance of the TMC because of a lack of load-bearing or lubricant capacity. However, the MLG/Fe 2 O 3 nanocomposite and MLG + Fe 2 O 3 mechanical mixture could effectively improve the wear performance. Interestingly, a critical load existed, at or below which extremely low wear loss and friction coefficient were obtained, which can be attributed to the formation of a protective tribofilm.