Fretting wear characteristics of Ti6Al4V/TiC nano composites using response surface method

Abstract

This study explores the impact of titanium carbide (TiC) nanoparticles on the microstructure and fretting wear performance of Ti64-GV alloys. The Ti64 alloys, featuring varying TiC concentrations, were fabricated through spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. Fretting experiments followed a face-centered central composite design methodology, employing a second-order quadratic regression model to analyze wear volume loss and coefficient of friction (CoF). The findings revealed a notable reduction in wear volume loss and friction coefficient with increasing TiC content. The presence of TiC significantly enhanced the wear resistance of Nano-composites due to heightened hardness and oxidation wear resistance. Employing hybrid desirability-based response surface methodology (RSM) led to substantial improvements in wear characteristics (37% in CoF and 46% in wear volume loss). Microstructural analysis affirmed enhanced surface quality and textures using the RSM hybrid approach for predicting optimal process parameters.