Sliding wear of TiC–NiMo cermets

The friction and wear properties of TiC–NiMo/steel rubbing pairs were investigated under dry condition. The sliding wear tests were carried out on the testing device at a velocity of 2.2 m/s and a load of 40 N. The volume wear increases with increase of the sliding distance as predicted by Archard’s equation. The wear coefficient of the cermets reduces with the increase of TiC and Mo content in the composite. The study has shown that the coefficient of friction was approximately the same for all the samples. The main wear mechanism in the TiC–NiMo cermets was micro-abrasion (polishing) and adhesive wear. At the initial stages of wear, adhesive wear characteristics featured by mild scratching and plastic smearing were observed on the worn surface, but at the later stages, contact fatigue failure of a relatively thick surface layer takes place.