Comparative Study of the Mechanical and Tribological Characteristics of Fe–Cu–Ni–Sn Composites with Different CrB2 Content under Dry and Wet Friction

• Published in: Journal of superhard materials Vol. 43; no. 1; pp. 52 - 64
• Main Authors: Mechnik, V. A., Bondarenko, N. A., Kolodnitskyi, V. M., Zakiev, V. I., Zakiev, I. M., Gevorkyan, E. S., Kuzin, N. O., Yakushenko, O. S., Semak, I. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Comparative studies; Composite materials; Copper; Diamonds; Dry friction; Elasticity; Friction; Hardness; Iron; Mechanical properties; Microhardness; Nickel; Phase composition; Physical Chemistry; Production; Properties; Structure; Tin; Tribology; Wear mechanisms; Wear rate; Wear resistance; hardness; composite; tribological tests; wear resistance; elasticity modulus; concentration; dry and wet friction; structure
• ISSN: 1063-4576; 1934-9408
• DOI: 10.3103/S1063457621010044

The structure, phase composition, hardness, and elasticity modulus of sintered Fe–Cu–Ni–Sn–CrB
2
composites and their tribological properties under dry and wet friction have been studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, microindentation, and tribological testing. The obtained results have demonstrated that the microstructure and mechanical and tribological properties of these composites depend on the CrB
2
additive content. The Fe–Cu–Ni–Sn–CrB
2
composites incorporate the α-Fe, γ-Fe, and Cu phases and a certain fraction of the crystalline Cu
9
NiSn
3
, NiSn
3
, and CrB
2
phases. The hardness and elasticity modulus of these composites are almost independent of the friction medium (dry or wet), and the friction force and the wear rate are variable. The Fe–Cu–Ni–Sn–CrB
2
composites are superior to the Fe–Cu–Ni–Sn composites in their mechanical and tribological properties. The addition of 2 wt % of CrB
2
to the 51Fe–32Cu–9Ni–8Sn composite has decreased the friction force from 220 to 170 mN and the wear rate from 7.41 × 10
–2
to 3.41 × 10
–2
mm
3
/(N m) under dry friction and, respectively, from 200 to 140 mN and from 8.19 × 10
–2
to 4.10 × 10
–2
mm
3
/(N m) under wet friction. A further growth in the CrB
2
content in the composites leads to an increase in the wear rate. The mechanism of increase in the wear resistance of the composite containing 2 wt % of CrB
2
as compared to the initial composite implies the formation of a more fine-grained structure with an optimal combination of the hardness and elasticity modulus. The Fe–Cu–Ni–Sn–CrB
2
composites can be used as a material for the matrix of composite diamond-containing materials subjected to strong wear.