Protective Tribofilm Research Articles

Tribochemical synergy between phosphate-intercalated layered double hydroxide additives and super high oleic safflower oil on sliding contacts.

In this study, the tribological properties of a series of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) intercalated by various phosphate anions (hydrogen phosphate, orthophosphate, pyrophosphate, and hexametaphosphate) were investigated by ball-on-disc testing in safflower oil which has a super high content of oleic acid (OA). The Mg-Al-NO3- LDH precursor was first synthesized by a coprecipitation method, and then nitrate anions were substituted by different phosphate anions via anion exchange. The successful intercalations were confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) analysis. The tribological results indicate that the antiwear properties increased linearly with the basic strength of the phosphate anions. Stronger bases, such as orthophosphate (PO43-) and pyrophosphate (P2O74-), encourage the dissociation of OA to form a protective oleate tribofilm on steel surfaces, leading to more than 40% wear reduction compared to the base oil. The tribological performance of the best antiwear candidate, PO43--LDH, was studied further under different loads and concentrations. A comparison between PO43--LDH and other nanomaterials was also carried out with PO43--LDH exhibiting a comparable performance against hexagonal boron nitride (BN).

Water‐based Cu nanofluid as lubricant for steel hot rolling: Experimental investigation and molecular dynamics simulation

AbstractThe lubrication performance of Cu nanofluid was studied through hot rolling tests and non‐equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation. Results showed that nanofluid with 0.5 wt% Cu nanoparticles possessed the optimal effect in reducing the rolling force, finish rolling thickness and rolled surface roughness. The superior lubrication performance was attributed to the formation of protective tribofilm made of Fe/Cu debris, iron and copper oxides as well as amorphous substances with a thickness of about 24 nm, which avoided the direct contact of steel strip and the roll, thus inhibiting the adhesion wear. Molecular dynamics simulation disclosed that the rolling‐dominated motion pattern of Cu nanoparticles with 74.1% rolling and 25.9% sliding motion contributed to a significant decrease in the friction force. Besides, surface defects including the peaks and valleys were polished and repaired by nanoparticles respectively, thus developing the surface quality of hot rolled products.

Correction to: “Cooperativity Between Zirconium Dioxide Nanoparticles and Extreme Pressure Additives in Forming Protective Tribofilms: Toward Enabling Low Viscosity Lubricants”

Correction to: “Cooperativity Between Zirconium Dioxide Nanoparticles and Extreme Pressure Additives in Forming Protective Tribofilms: Toward Enabling Low Viscosity Lubricants”

Influence of temperature on wear performance of greases in rolling bearings

Purpose Rolling bearing operation under mixed and boundary lubrication conditions may lead to heavy adhesive or abrasive wear, which may lead to wear-induced rolling bearing failure. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the wear protection capabilities of different grease compositions at varying temperatures. It is considered that the temperature influences the lubrication conditions, the behaviour of grease components, namely, bleed oil and thickener, as well as the tribofilm formation due to tribo-chemical interactions between additives and surfaces. Design/methodology/approach In this study, four different greases were produced on the basis of a mineral base oil by varying the thickener and the addition of ZDDP. Various grease-lubricated rolling bearing experiments were conducted in a wide temperature range from 0°C to 120°C. Subsequently, the wear pattern, tribofilm formation and grease structures were analysed. Thereby, the influence of the different grease thickeners and the performance of ZDDP as a common antiwear and extreme pressure additive was evaluated. Findings The results show a strong temperature-dependency and allow a classification of temperature ranges concerning wear protection. At low temperatures, all greases provide a very good wear protection without the evidence of additive-based tribofilm formation. In the experiments at elevated temperatures, ZDDP tribofilms were formed. The formation depends on the thickener type: in comparison to lithium thickener, polyurea thickener favours more protective tribofilms at the same temperature. The experimental results show that medium temperatures in the range of 40°C–60°C are critical concerning wear due to the insufficient tribolayer formation and limited load carrying capacity of the grease. Originality/value Temperature is a key operating parameter for grease lubrication in roller bearings. The experimental work enables consideration of different impact pathways of temperature by combining roller bearing tests and microanalysis.

Highly wear-resistant alumina/graphene layered and fiber-reinforced composites

The wear resistance and tribological characteristics of alumina/graphene layered and fiber-reinforced composites were investigated under dry sliding conditions at applied loads of 10 N and 50 N in the air. The experimental materials were prepared by a combination of electrospinning-calcination-chemical vapor deposition and spark plasma sintering. Graphene-coated Al2O3 microfibers were used to form layers in layered monolithic alumina/graphene-coated Al2O3 microfibers composite, and as reinforcements for the alumina matrix in the fiber-reinforced composite. The microstructure, deformation, and damage characteristics were studied. Both composites show a lower coefficient of friction in comparison to alumina with the lowest value of 0.42 for the fiber-reinforced composite measured at a load of 10 N. At the load of 10 N the composites exhibit very high wear resistance with values of wear rate 2.78 × 10−8mm3/(N·m) for the layered and 1.74 × 10−8mm3/(N·m) for the fiber-reinforced composite, in comparison to the wear rate of Al2O3 with a value of 5.35 × 10−6mm3/(N·m). The significant improvement in the wear resistance of the composites was associated with the improved mechanical properties and formation of a protective tribofilm on the wear tracks by the multilayered graphene present on the surface of Al2O3 microfibers and alumina debris, which provided the lubricating effect for the composites.

A comparative study on the electrical and tribological characteristic of magnetron sputtered Ag, Cu and Al films under current-carrying friction

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare the electrical conductivity and tribological properties of magnetron sputtered silver (Ag), copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al) thin films under conductive grease lubrication. Design/methodology/approach Three types of silver (Ag), copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al) thin films were prepared by magnetron sputtering. Current-carrying friction tests were carried out by a ball-on-plate reciprocating friction and wear tester. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used to observe and analyze the worn surface and cross-section morphology of the films. Findings Silver and Cu films exhibited good conductivity and tribological properties, which were mainly attributed to the synergy of the protective tribofilm generated by conductive grease, current-induced thermal effect and magnetron sputtered films effect. Al film was worn through. Large pitting storing lubricate were only found in Ag film. Cu film showed a similar surface uniformity with Ag film. Originality/value This study provides a reference for the design and application of conductive grease and investigates the current-carrying friction behaviors of magnetron sputtered films as electrical contact materials. The comparison of current-carrying friction behaviors of the three films was rarely covered in previous studies.

Novel utilization of liquid feedstock in high velocity air fuel (HVAF) spraying to deposit solid lubricant reinforced wear resistant coatings

The ability to axially inject liquid feedstock has encouraged the thermal spray research community to explore this concept to deposit coatings for various next generation functional applications. The current study explores the utilization of liquid feedstock in high velocity air fuel (HVAF) spraying to deposit solid lubricant reinforced wear resistant coatings for the first time. The study successfully demonstrates the use of a powder-suspension hybrid processing approach to incorporate a solid lubricant Boron Nitride (as suspension) in a wear resistant Cr3C2–NiCr (as powder) cermet matrix. Coatings were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Raman Spectroscopy to analyze their microstructure and phase constitution. The results show that the tribological performance of the hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)-incorporated composite coating was significantly better than the traditional powder-derived Cr3C2–NiCr coating. Such hBN-incorporated composite coatings are needed to improve the mechanical properties and enhance the overall tribological performance of metallic components used in various applications, especially at high temperature such as cylinder bore, pistons, deformation tools, etc. The limitations of liquid based lubricants at high temperature motivates the use of hBN reinforced composite coatings as it can form a protective solid lubrication tribo-film. The study concludes that the emerging HVAF technology can accommodate liquid feedstock and be successfully utilized to deposit hybrid powder-suspension composite coatings to create multi length scale microstructures which can be attractive for combining different tribological attributes in the same coatings system.

Tribochemistry evolution of DDP tribofilms over time using in-situ synchrotron XAS

Ashless dialkyldithiophosphate (DDP) antiwear additives are good candidates to replace the widely used metallic DDPs such as zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP), which are less environmentally friendly. A newly designed in-situ tribological rig was utilised to perform in-situ synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in order to examine the decomposition reactions of two types of DDPs; acidic and neutral. The tribological experiments showed that the two DDP additives decomposed to form protective tribofilms on the steel surface, which provided better antiwear protection than ZDDP regardless of the tribofilm thickness. The neutral DDP formed a thinner tribofilm (about 33 nm) than ZDDP (about 41 nm), whereas the tribofilm of the acidic DDP had a much lower thickness (<7 nm) but more superior antiwear protection. The two DDPs also provided lower friction coefficient (<0.1) than the 0.12 provided by ZDDP. The XAS experiments suggest that the DDPs decompose to form initially iron sulphate, which is quickly reduced to sulphide before forming the phosphate layers of the protective tribofilm. These layers consisted initially of iron phosphate of short chains but as rubbing continued organic phosphate with long chains started to form.

Tribochemistry of fluorinated ZnO nanoparticles and ZDDP lubricated interface and implications for enhanced anti-wear performance at boundary lubricated contacts

Surface-capped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were engineered to deliver beneficial anti-wear and anti-friction chemistries at sliding interfaces with a focus on potentially reducing environmentally hazardous zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) additive in automotive lubricants, without compromising tribological performance. A plasma polymerization technique was employed to coat ZnO nanoparticles, initially with fluorine rich polymer films to enhance the formation of surface protective tribofilms, followed by methacrylate-based coatings to reduce agglomeration and, simultaneously, induce stable dispersion of nanoparticles in the base oils. Formulation with an additive mixture of fluorinated ZnO and ZDDP (350 ppm phosphorus level) exhibited a reduction in the coefficient of friction and significantly improved wear performance. The improved tribological performance is attributed to the synergistic interaction between fluorinated ZnO and ZDDP and to the physical and chemical properties of the formed tribofilms. In-situ electrical contact resistance data highlighted the role of fluorinated ZnO nano-additives in reducing the incubation time for stable tribofilm formation. AFM, SEM, XANES, and XPS results revealed that oils with fluorinated ZnO form relatively thick, patchy tribofilms with hierarchical chemical structure enriched with zinc polyphosphates, coupled with minor amounts of metal fluorides, zinc, and iron sulfates and sulfides, further improving wear resistance under low concentration of ZDDP.

Integration of Functionalized Polyelectrolytes onto Carbon Dots for Synergistically Improving the Tribological Properties of Polyethylene Glycol.

In this work, we carefully designed and synthesized a series of novel polyelectrolyte-functionalized carbon dots (CDs-PEI-X) by a facile and reversible phase transfer method based on the protonation reaction and anion exchange process executed on the surface of polyethylenimine-grafted CDs (CDs-PEI), where X denotes the anionic moieties of polyelectrolyte shells including hexafluorophosphate (PF6-), bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (NTf2-), oleate (OL-), and bis(salicylato)borate (BScB-), respectively. Attributed to the favorable compatibility of these anions and polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules, the hydrophobic CDs-PEI-X displayed excellent dispersibility and long-term stability in PEG200 base oil. Subsequently, the tribological behaviors of CDs-PEI-X as the lubricant additives of PEG200 were systematically investigated. It was proved that the anionic moieties of the polyelectrolyte shells of CDs-PEI-X played a crucial role in regulating their tribological behaviors. Particularly, CDs-PEI-OL was confirmed as an optimal additive, exhibiting the best lubricity, outstanding load-bearing capacity, long service life, and remarkable operational stability under boundary lubrication regime. Based on the tribological evaluations and worn surface analyses, the lubrication mechanism of CDs-PEI-OL was mainly attributed to the formation of the organic-inorganic hybrid adsorption film, the protective tribofilm, and its nanolubrication functions as scrollable "ball-bearing", i.e., the synergistic lubrication effects of surface polyelectrolyte shells and carbon cores. This study provides a feasible and versatile strategy to rapidly and effectively tailor the surface chemistry of CDs and discloses the essential contribution of carbon cores and surface groups on the lubrication process, which facilitates the development of advanced CDs-based nanolubricant additives.

Anomalous microstructure and tribological evaluation of AlCrFeNiW0.2Ti0.5 high-entropy alloy coating manufactured by laser cladding in seawater

To evaluate the potential of high entropy alloys for marine applications, a new high entropy alloy coating of AlCrFeNiW0.2Ti0.5 was designed and produced on Q235 steel via laser cladding. The microstructure, microhardness and tribological performances sliding against YG6 cemented carbide, GCr15 steel and Si3N4 ceramic in seawater were studied in detail. The AlCrFeNiW0.2Ti0.5 coating showed an anomalous ‘sunflower-like’ morphology and consisted of BCC and ordered B2 phases. The microhardness was approximately 692.5 HV, which was 5 times higher than substrate. The coating showed more excellent tribological performances than Q235 steel and SUS304, a typical material used in seawater environment, sliding against all three coupled balls in seawater. Besides, the wear and friction of AlCrFeNiW0.2Ti0.5 coating sliding against YG6 in seawater were most mild. The main reason was the generation of Mg(OH)2, CaCO3, metal oxides and hydroxides and the formation of protective tribo-film on the worn surface of AlCrFeNiW0.2Ti0.5 coating in the process of reciprocated sliding. This would effectively hinder the direct contact between the worn surfaces of AlCrFeNiW0.2Ti0.5 coating and YG6 ball, resulting in a decrease of friction coefficient and wear rate. Thus the YG6 was an ideal coupled material for AlCrFeNiW0.2Ti0.5 coating in seawater, and the coating would become a promising wear-resisting material in ocean environment.

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), Fe2O3, and their composite and mixture, onto the sliding tracks. Irrespective of the load, MLG or Fe2O3 additives could hardly improve the wear performance of the TMC because of a lack of load-bearing or lubricant capacity. However, the MLG/Fe2O3 nanocomposite and MLG + Fe2O3 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.

Effect of load on the behaviour of tribofilms formed at the interface of austenitic steel and ductile iron – a Raman spectroscopic study

ABSTRACT This paper presents Raman spectroscopic characterization of the tribofilms formed during dry sliding at the interface of an exhaust valve material, austenitic steel 21–4 N and valve-seat material, ductile cast iron GGG-40, at loads of 20–50 N at a temperature of 500°C. The behaviour of the tribofilms formed at the contact interface with increasing loads is highlighted. Pin-on-disc experiments were conducted on a high-temperature tribometer and low coefficient of friction (COF), in the range of 0.12–0.15, was observed at loads up to 40 N which increased by 35% to 0.19 at a load of 50 N. Scanning electron micrographs indicate the presence of well-developed tribofilms at lower loads while the formation, subsequent deterioration and finally the reformation process of tribofilms is observed at the higher loads. Energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis primarily indicates the presence of oxides of Fe in the tribofilm region. Ex-situ Raman spectroscopy confirms the presence of haematite (α-Fe2O3) on the wear tracks, especially at loads of 20–40 N. However, the spectra indicate a strong presence of magnetite at a load of 50 N. It is observed that haematite is a major constituent of the wear protective tribofilms.

Pressure-velocity limit evaluation on POM-C + carbon black at different temperatures

The present study examined the effect of temperature on Pressure-Velocity Limit (PVL) of a commercial polyacetal (POM-C) with carbon black. The polymer was rubbed against a gray cast iron counterpart (disc) through a pin-on-disc tribometer. The operating parameters of the wear tests included a fixed constant load, 3 different temperatures (30, 55 and 85 °C), and sliding velocities (v) varying from 1.2 to 2.0 m/s. At 30 °C, the PVL was 2.04 MPa m s−1 (at 1.8 m/s). At 55 °C, two distinct PVLs were identified: PVL1 = 2.04 MPa m s−1 (v = 1.8 m/s) and PVL2 = 2.26 MPa m s−1 (v = 2.0 m/s). Between the PVL1 and PVL2 at v = 1.9 m/s, the wear regime was mild due to the presence of a protective and uniform tribofilm on the surface of the disc. At 85 °C, no PVL was reached. The higher temperature of the tests softened the polymer in this case, easing its adhesion on the disc's surface. This in turn contributed to form a uniform and continuous tribofilm over the disc's surface, preventing the PVL and severe wear regime to occur. The wear mechanisms involved in the tests are described and discussed throughout the paper.

Cooperativity Between Zirconium Dioxide Nanoparticles and Extreme Pressure Additives in Forming Protective Tribofilms: Toward Enabling Low Viscosity Lubricants

Realizing the efficiency benefits of low viscosity lubricants requires novel strategies to avoid failures resulting from increased boundary contact. Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) nanoparticles (NPs) form protective tribofilms through tribosintering at lubricated contacts in pure hydrocarbon base oils, suggesting they hold promise for reducing boundary contact-induced failures. However, their tribological behavior alongside co-additives found in fully formulated oils has not been examined in depth. Here, the macroscopic tribological performance of dispersed ZrO2 NPs (1 wt% loading; 5 nm diameter nearly spherical ZrO2 tetragonal phase NPs with organic capping ligands for oil solubility) with and without the presence of co-additives found in fully formulated commercial gear oils was studied using a mini-traction machine (MTM). The results show that ZrO2 NPs reproducibly develop surface-bound ~ 100 nm thick tribofilms on both contacting surfaces under a wide range of rolling-sliding contact conditions, from 0 to 100% slide-to-roll ratio. Steady-state traction coefficient values of ZrO2 tribofilms formed alongside co-additives (0.10–0.11) do not substantially differ from ZrO2 tribofilms formed in neat polyalphaolefin base oils (0.10–0.13). However, there is improvement in the tribological performance of the contact, with at least a twofold reduction of wear of the steel. This behavior is proposed to be a result of cooperating mechanisms, where the extreme pressure additives adsorbed on the steel surfaces protect them against early adhesive wear, during the time that a protective ZrO2 tribofilm incorporating the co-additives forms on the steel surfaces, preventing further wear.

Dependence of Tribological Performance and Tribopolymerization on the Surface Binding Strength of Selected Cycloalkane-Carboxylic Acid Additives

We recently reported the use of cyclopropanecarboxylic acid (CPCa) as a model additive that can readily react under the combined effect of flash heating and stress in steel tribocontacts to form tribopolymers, along with marked improvement in tribological performance. In this paper, we present results of how chemical structural modification of CPCa may impact on the formation of tribopolymers and hence friction and wear properties, both by experiments and molecular dynamics simulation. Four lubricant additives, viz., CPCa, cyclobutanecarboxylic acid (CBCa), cyclopropane-1,1-dicarboxylic acid (CPDCa), and cyclobutane-1,1-dicarboxylic acid (CBDCa) consisting of a metastable ring structure and one or two carboxyl groups dissolved in an ester base oil were studied. Friction and wear rate using these additives rank in the order of CPDCa < CBDCa < CPCa < CBCa. Raman spectroscopy analysis reveals that these additive molecules form tribopolymer films at the contact area. Molecular dynamics simulation shows that CPCa with the less stable cyclopropane ring fragments more readily than CBCa. Such fragmentation appears to be essential for subsequent tribopolymerization and formation of protective tribofilms. These simulations further demonstrate that having two carboxyl groups as in the case of CPDCa results in stronger binding of the additive molecules to the surface, thus increasing the residence time and hence facilitating mechanically or thermally induced dissociation and subsequent polymerization. The net result is that CPDCa gives the lowest friction and negligible wear under our testing conditions.

Superior extreme pressure properties of different layer LDH nanoplatelets used as boundary lubricants

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are a class of strongly adsorbed two-dimensional materials composed of divalent and trivalent metal cations. In this study, LDHs nanoplatelets with three different thickness were synthesized by changing the crystallization method during the hydrothermal reaction process. The three-dimensional size and layer number of nanoplatelets were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The synthesized ultrathin Co/Al-LDH (U-CA-LDH) nanoplatelets, only ca. 1 nm thick (single or double layer), were surface modified with ethylene glycol for good dispersion in an oil-based system. As a lubricant additive, the base oil with U-CA-LDH nanoplatelets can withstand extreme pressures of up 2000 N, almost three times the ultimate load-bearing capacity for commercial additives. In particular, through physical property and chemical composition analysis of tribofilms, U-CA-LDH nanoplatelets with a partial tetrahedral coordination form were revealed to exhibit better tribological properties than multilayer Mg/Al-LDH (M−MA−LDH) nanoplatelets with a stable octahedral coordination form. Incomplete coordinated nanoplatelets exhibited extremely high chemical activity in the high-temperature tribological region and promoted the formation of a denser protective tribofilm on the sliding surface. Owing to their superior tribological properties as oil-based additives, U-CA-LDH nanoplatelets hold great potential for practical application in the mechanical industry in the future.

Influence of secondary phase particles Al2O3/SiC on the microstructure and tribological characteristics of AA7075-based surface hybrid composites tailored using friction stir processing

Recently, cylinder liners of automotive and aircraft engines are encountered severe wear due to piston slap occurred by the repeated sliding stroke of piston. This research focuses on providing an alternative material for cylinder liners, which can be obtained through friction stir processing on AA7075 with different weight ratios of reinforcements like Al2O3 and SiC. Friction stir processing is executed with a tool rotational speed of 1000 r/min and traveling speed of 56 mm/min at 2° tool tilt angle. The images of optical microscopy reveal the fine-grains with a homogeneous distribution of secondary phase particles and also offer decrement in particle clustering except at some localized regions. It is identified that addition of 3.7 wt.% Al2O3 + 3.0 wt.% SiC in AA7075 enhanced the microhardness about 33.96% higher than base matrix. Hence, wear resistance of the specimen is improved. Dry sliding wear behavior of specimens is analyzed using pin on disc at 20, 40, and 60 N load conditions to create the actual sliding behavior of piston on cylinder wall. Increasing the wt.% of Al2O3 particles enhanced the wear resistance of AA7075 surface hybrid composites at 20 N load due to the formation of protective tribofilm. Specimen with 3.7% Al2O3 + 3.0% SiC has better lubrication and load-bearing capacity that exhibits superior tribological behavior at 40 and 60 N. Higher Fe content of 5.44 wt.% has been obtained through spectroscopy analysis in S5, which is 8% and 6% higher than S3 (7.5% of Al2O3) and S7 (6% of SiC), respectively. The scratching action of this hard specimen on the counterpart brings more Fe content. Increase of Al2O3 particles paved the way for tribofilm formation and identified through scanning electron microscopy micrographs. The observation from worn specimens shows that finer wear debris had increased by adding more quantity of SiC particles due to abrasive wear mechanism.

In situ microscopic study of tribology and growth of ZDDP antiwear tribofilms on an Al–Si alloy

Zincdialkyldithiophosphates (ZDDPs) form protective antiwear tribofilms but the growth mechanism and their contribution to friction on non-ferrous alloys are not well understood. Using a recently developed in situ AFM technique, we monitor the growth of ZDDP based tribofilms, friction, and wear, over Al matrix and Si phase of ADC12, sliding against a nonferrous alumina probe. Sliding tests performed at elevated temperature (110 °C), simultaneously over Al and Si phase, reveal tribofilm growth on both Al and Si regions without noticeable wear. However, the tribofilm thickness, density, and coefficient of friction on the Si phase are higher than on the Al matrix. Significant wear and increase in the coefficient of friction was observed when sliding within the Al matrix region alone.

Tribomechanical insight into carbide-laden hybrid suspension-powder plasma-sprayed Tribaloy T400 composite coatings

Tribaloy T400 (CoCrMoSi) caters to heavy-duty industrial tribological demands, but exhibits low fracture toughness with compromised resistance to crack propagation owing to the disparity in % Laves phases. In response to this limitation, hybrid suspension-powder plasma-sprayed novel Cr3C2 (d50 of 3.8 μm)/TiC (d50 of 2.2 μm) reinforced T400 (average powder size of ~10–45 μm) coatings are deposited on grit-blasted SSAB Domex®350 LA steel. Continuous, adherent and co-existing lamellar T400-carbide coatings of ~100 μm thickness were revealed in microstructure analysis. Intermetallic CoMoSi/Co3Mo2Si Laves and eutectic Co7Mo6/Co2Mo7 phases in T400 in addition to Cr3C2/TiC characteristic phases are confirmed via X-ray diffraction study. T400-Cr3C2 and T400-TiC have exhibited enhancement in elastic modulus (E) by 39%, and 36%, Vickers hardness (Hv) by 68%, and 82.5%; which consequently elucidates the augmentation in plasticity index (re) by 15.7% and 26.7%, and the drop in maximum displacement amplitude (hmax) by 14.9% and 19.8%, respectively, in T400-Cr3C2 and T400-TiC with reference to T400 (E of 135.2 GPa, Hv of 6.3 GPa, re = 0.318, and hmax = 1947 nm). A subsequent surmised fretting Hertzian contact diameter in T400-Cr3C2 (~95.43 μm)/T400-TiC (~96.1 μm) evaluated against T400 (~106.9 μm) from optical profilometry indicates an improved damage tolerance. A contact area-based wear model, proposed herein to assess wear on a rough surface, further justifies the wear characteristics. Furthermore, synergistic L929 cell viability is recorded in T400-Cr3C2 (by 46%) and T400-TiC (by 30%) when compared with the control (+ve) disk. To conclude, suspension-powder plasma-sprayed T400-Cr3C2/T400-TiC composite coatings allude potential application in wear-resistant articulating surfaces by eliciting significantly enhanced micro-hardness through refined microstructure retention, improved fretting wear resistance by forming protective tribofilm, and augmented cellular response.