Investigation on the mechanical and tribological behavior of tungsten-reinforced Ti-5Al-2.5Sn composites

Abstract

The composite material under this investigation was fabricated using the microwave sintering process. The matrix materials chosen for the preparation of composite materials include pure titanium (Ti), aluminium (Al), and tin (Sn). Tungsten (W) is used as the reinforcing material, with variable weight percentages of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, and 2.5%. The purpose of this study is to assess the fundamental mechanical properties (microhardness, elastic moduli, fracture toughness, contact stiffness, etc.) and surface degradation properties (wear) of the composite materials that were fabricated. Furthermore, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy with line mapping analysis were performed to verify the existence of reinforcement particles evenly distributed in the matrix material and scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) examination was done on the wear tested samples. The density of the Ti-5Al-2.5Sn-2W composite material has been enhanced in comparison to the density of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn. The results of the Micro Vickers hardness test indicate that the Ti-5Al-2.5Sn-2W composite exhibits a hardness that is 3.1% higher than that of the Ti-5Al-2.5Sn material. In comparison to Ti-5Al-2.5Sn, the Ti-5Al-2.5Sn-2W composite displayed a 10% lower wear rate and 7% coefficient of friction, respectively. The findings show that increasing the weight percentage of tungsten (W) greatly enhances the mechanical and wear characteristics of the composites.