Friction and wear behavior of Ti following laser surface alloying with Si, Al and Si+Al

This study concerns the friction and wear behavior of Ti following laser surface alloying (LSA) with Si, Al or Si+Al. The said tribological characteristics of the laser-alloyed samples, subjected to the earlier determined optimum conditions of LSA, were investigated in terms of the variation of wear depth as a function of load and time using a computer-controlled reciprocating ball-on-disc wear testing machine fitted with an oscillating hardened steel ball. A detailed post wear microstructural analysis was conducted to determine the mechanism of wear and role of alloying elements in improving the resistance to wear. It appears that LSA with Si is more effective in improving the wear resistance of Ti than that by Si+Al or Al alone. The enhanced wear resistance in Si surface alloyed samples has been attributed to the presence of uniformly distributed Ti5Si3 in the alloyed zone (AZ).