Influence of WC-12Co reinforcement on sliding wear performance of stainless steel-based MMC processed in a microwave oven

Abstract

The high hardness, corrosion resistance, excellent resistance to wear of WC-12Co, and good formability of nickel-based EWAC make these materials suitable candidates used as a reinforcement in stainless steel SS316 for manufacturing various automobiles and anti-wear parts. In this study, the composite castings of SS316+15% Ni-based (EWAC)+WC-12Co (5%–15%) have been developed by microwave hybrid heating. The tribological performance of cast composite samples has been assessed by a Pin-on-disc sliding wear tester. The behavior of cumulative weight loss, wear rate, and coefficient of friction of the cast surface at variable WC-12Co was investigated. The maximum cumulative weight loss, of 12.2 mg occurred at a 4 kg normal load and 1.5 m/s of sliding speed for 5%WC-12Co reinforcement. The minimum cumulative weight loss of 2.1 mg for the 15%WC-12Co at a speed of 1.0 m/s and a normal load of 2 kg. The 5.8 times anti-wear properties have been developed at 15%WC-12Co than 5%WC-12Co. The lower wear rate of 0.002 mg/s was observed at 0.5 m/s and a load of 2 kg. The delamination, shear, de-bonding of particles, pitting, formation of cavities, craters, plastic deformation, and smeared oxide layer were the causes of wear. The MMC microhardness was improved. The microstructure morphology was free from visual defects.