Wettability between Titanium‐Containing Steels and TiC Ceramic Substrate

Abstract

TiC particles, known for their extremely high hardness, are commonly used in metal‐matrix composite to enhance wear resistant. Precipitating TiC particles during the solidification stage of steel proves to be an effective method for improving product properties. Herein, TiC particles are determined to precipitate during the solidification process of titanium‐containing steels (Ti>0.3 wt%) through in situ observation experiment and energy spectrum analysis. To investigate the crucial factor of wettability, which significantly affects mechanical properties, the wetting experiments between TiC substrates (15 × 15 × 2 mm) and the steel specimens (Φ3 × 3 mm) with different titanium contents (0.01, 0.31, and 0.68 wt%) are simultaneously conducted employing a modified sessile drop method, combining with an electron probe microanalyzer. The results reveal that the molten steel infiltrates into the TiC substrate along its interconnected internal pores, driven by capillary force, with elements diffusion occurring and no reaction products are found in this process. Thermodynamic calculations confirm that TiC has a higher solubility in liquid steel compared to TiN, thus validating the superior wettability of TiC–steel system over the TiN–steel system. These findings provide valuable insights for studying wettability between TiC particles and high‐titanium steel, as well as for designing high‐titanium wear‐resistant steel compositions.