Preparation and Impact‐Abrasive Wear Behavior of NbC‐Reinforced Iron Matrix Composites

Abstract

Workpieces in the field of mining machinery are prone to failure under the combined effect of impact and abrasive, causing serious economic losses to enterprises. In this study, both pure Fe matrix composites and NbC particle (NbCp)‐reinforced Fe composites (NbCp/Fe) samples are produced by vacuum‐sintering method, respectively, and their resistance to impact‐abrasive wear is tested on the impact‐abrasive wear rig. In the results, it is shown that the hardness of NbCp/Fe composite increases with the increase of NbCp mass fraction, and the density decreases when the mass fraction of NbCp is less than 7%. At this time, the homogeneity of the composite is higher; when the mass fraction of NbCp is greater than 7%, the standard deviation values of hardness and density are larger, fluctuate greatly, and have low uniformity, and agglomeration occurs within the organization; When the mass fraction of NbCp is 7%, composite possesses better comprehensive performance. The impact‐abrasive wear mechanism of the Fe matrix material primarily includes microcutting, impact plastic deformation, and fatigue spalling, which is a typical abrasive wear mechanism; the impact‐abrasive wear mechanisms of NbCp/Fe composites primarily comprise microcutting or micro‐plowing, impact plastic deformation, and fatigue spalling.