Effect of In-situ Ceramic Particles on Wear Behavior of Fe-based Composite

TiC ceramic reinforced Fe-based composite was fabricated through in-situ reaction within a high- chromium cast iron matrix. The microstructure and properties were systematically investigated through SEM, EDS, EBSD characterization techniques combined with hardness measurement, sliding wear test, and three-body abrasive wear evaluations. The results show that the in-situ formed submicron TiC ceramic particles exhibit no distinct crystallographic orientation preference during matrix. The hardness of the composite reaches 60 HRC due to the high volume fraction (60%) of ceramic. Under identical sliding wear conditions, the wear rate of composite is 1.58×10^-5 mm³/(N·m), merely 43.6% of the high chromium cast iron. During three-body abrasive wear test, due to the significant difference in size between ceramic particles and abrasive media, the enhancement of wear resistance of ceramic particles on composite is limited.