Microstructure and Tribological Properties of Mo–40Ni–13Si Multiphase Intermetallic Alloy
Intermetallic compounds are increasingly being expected to be utilized in tribological environments, but to date their implementation is hindered by insufficient ductility at low and medium temperatures. This paper presents a novel multiphase intermetallic alloy with the chemical composition of Mo–40Ni–13Si (at %). Microstructure characterization reveals that a certain amount of ductile Mo phases formed during the solidification process of a ternary Mo–Ni–Si molten alloy, which is beneficial to the improvement of ductility of intermetallic alloys. Tribological properties of the designed alloy—including wear resistance, friction coefficient, and metallic tribological compatibility—were evaluated under dry sliding wear test conditions at room temperature. Results suggest that the multiphase alloy possesses an excellent tribological property, which is attributed to unique microstructural features and thereby a good combination in hardness and ductility. The corresponding wear mechanism is explained by observing the worn surface, subsurface, and wear debris of the alloy, which was found to be soft abrasive wear.
Microstructural characterization and dry sliding wear resistance of MoO2-strengthened γ/NiMo alloys with different primary phases
Abstract Two γ/NiMo alloys strengthened by a refractory metal oxide MoO2 phase were fabricated by a laser melting deposition process. Microstructural transformation of the alloys with different primary phases was identified and the crystal structure of the primary phases was confirmed by both X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Meanwhile, room-temperature dry sliding wear behavior and mechanism difference of the alloys were also investigated mainly by scanning electron microscopy. Microstructures of the alloys varied from hypoeutectic to hypereutectic, as the molybdenum content increases. The hypoeutectic alloy was solidified on the basis of a Ni-base solid solution γ primary phase, whereas the hypereutectic alloy was grown based on an intermetallic compound with NiMo primary phase. The γ, NiMo primary phases and MoO2 strengthening phase were confirmed to have face-centered cubic, orthorhombic and monoclinic structures, respectively. Compared with the hypoeutectic alloy, the hypereutectic alloy exhibited higher wear resistance under the same condition. The predominant wear mechanism of the γ/NiMo alloys transformed from micro-cutting to microcracking.
Ductilization of Mo–Si solid solutions manufactured by powder metallurgy
Abstract Mo–1.5 at.% Si alloys with additions of either Y2O3 or Zr were manufactured by mechanical alloying. The Y2O3 particles reduced the grain size and increased the room temperature strength, but did not alleviate the brittleness of previously investigated Mo–1.5 at.% Si without Y2O3. Additions of Zr, on the other hand, resulted not only in a fine grain size and an extremely high bend strength (∼2 GPa), but also in limited bend ductility at room temperature. Zr additions are seen to be beneficial for three reasons. First, Zr reduces the grain size. Second, Zr getters detrimental oxygen by forming ZrO2 particles (which in turn help to pin the grain boundaries). Third, in situ Auger analysis shows that Zr reduces the concentration of Si segregated at the grain boundaries. This is thought to enhance the grain boundary cohesive strength and thus leads to the observed ductility.