The Effects of Reinforcement with TaC on the Microstructure and Wear Properties of Lamellar Graphite Cast Irons

Abstract

Lamellar graphite cast irons are prevalently used in several industrial applications, especially the automotive industry, due to their high compressive strength, high thermal conductivity, high castability, vibration damping ability, good mechanical strength, friction and wear resistance, better machinability than other cast irons, and good mold filling. In this study, changes in the wear volumes, wear rates, wear track profiles, and friction coefficients of lamellar graphite cast irons in which Tantalum Carbide (TaC) was added at different reinforcement ratios (A (0.025 wt.%), B (0.155 wt.%), C (0.285 wt.%), and K (unreinforced, 0 wt.%)) were investigated. Additionally, by examining the wear surfaces of the samples using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), their wear mechanisms were determined. As a result of the analyses, it was determined that different reinforcement ratios did not have a noticeable effect on wear track profiles under a load of 1 N. On the other hand, different reinforcement ratios showed an effect on wear track profiles under loads of 3 N and 5 N. The most perceptible wear track profile was formed in Sample C under 5 N. It was observed that increased load values resulted in increased wear volumes, but the increases in the wear rates of the samples were not significant, and the numerical values were close to each other. The highest wear volumes were determined in the reinforced C sample and the unreinforced K sample under 5 N load. As the magnitude of the load that was applied increased, the friction coefficients of Samples B and C decreased, but the friction coefficients of Samples K and A increased.

Keywords

• Wear
• Lamellar Graphite Cast Iron
• Tantalum Carbide (TaC)

References

1. E. Tan, “The effect of adding ratio of copper to the wear behavior of rolls manufactured by cast iron”, M.S. thesis, Institute of Sciences, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey, 2005.
2. D. Sağlam, “Wear properties of cast iron”, M.S. thesis, Institute of Sciences, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey, 2009.
3. A. O. Devecili and R. Yakut, “The effect of Nb supplement on material characteristics of iron with lamellar graphite”, Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 2014, pp. 1-5, 2014.
4. D. Mu and B. Shen, “The kinetics and dry-sliding wear properties of boronized gray cast iron”, Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 2013, pp. 1-7, 2013.
5. H. Berns, “Comparison of wear resistant MMC and white cast iron”, Wear, vol. 254, no. 1-2, pp. 47-54, 2003.
6. C. Kowandy, C. Richard, Y. M. Chen, and J. J. Tessier, “Correlation between the tribological behaviour and wear particle morphology-case of grey cast iron 250 versus Graphite and PTFE”, Wear, vol. 262, no. 7-8, pp. 996–1006, 2007.
7. E. Albertin and A. Sinatora, “Effect of carbide fraction and matrix microstructure on the wear of cast iron balls tested in a laboratory ball mill”, Wear, vol. 250-251, no. 1, pp. 492-501, 2001.
8. J. Asensio, J. A. Pero-Sanz, and J. I. Verdeja, “Microstructure selection criteria for cast irons with more than 10 wt.% chromium for wear applications”, Materials Characterization, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 83-93, 2002.

9. A. Hassani, A. Habibolahzadeh and S. Sadeghinejad, “Comparison of microstructural and tribological effects of low vanadium-low titanium additions to a gray cast iron”, J. Mater. Eng. Perform., vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 267-282, 2013.
10. Q. Li, Y. Zhang, Y. Zhang, H. Liu, H. Ren, Y. Zhong, X. Huang and W. Huang, “Influence of Sn and Nb additions on the microstructure and wear characteristics of a gray cast iron”, Applied Physics A, vol. 126, no. 282, pp. 1-8, 2020.
11. A. R. Riahi and A. T. Alpas, “Wear map for grey cast ıron”, Wear, vol. 255, no. 1-6, pp. 401–409, 2003.
12. M. K. Bilici, “Wear Properties Of An Alloy Cast Iron”, M.S. thesis, Institute of Sciences, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey, 2004.
13. R. Ghasemi and L. Elmquist, “A study on graphite extrusion phenomenon under the sliding wear response of cast iron using microindentation and microscratch techniques”, Wear, vol. 320, pp.120-126, 2014.
14. Z. Chen, T. Zhou, R. Zhao, H. Zhang, S. Lu, W. Yang and H. Zhou, “Improved fatigue wear resistance of gray cast iron by localized laser carburizing”, Materials Science & Engineering A, vol. 644, pp. 1-9, 2015.
15. T. Willidal, W. Bauer and P. Schumacher, “Stress/strain behaviour and fatigue limit of grey cast iron”, Materials Science and Engineering A, vol. 413-414, pp. 578-582, 2005.
16. G. Bertolino and J. E. Perez-Ipina, “Geometrical effects on lamellar grey cast iron fracture toughness”, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 179, pp. 202-206, 2006.
17. M. Ramadan, M. Takita and H. Nomura, “Effect of semi-solid processing on solidification microstructure and mechanical properties of gray cast iron”, Materials Science and Engineering A, vol. 417, pp. 166-173, 2006.
18. M. Çolak, İ. Arslan and E. Gavgalı, “Solidification simulation of gray cast iron and comparison with real cast”, Engineering Sciences (NWSAENS), vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 280-290, 2018.
19. A. Döngel, “Investigation of high temperature wear behavior of for boro-tempered ductile iron” M.S. thesis, Institute of Sciences, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey, 2008.
20. F. Münker, “Wear properties of hardened cast irons”, M.S. thesis, Institute of Sciences, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey, 2010.
21. Ö. ÇİFTÇİ, R. YAKUT, “Effects of TaC addition to lamellar graphite cast irons on mechanical properties” International Cappadocia Scientific Research Congress, Cappadocia-Nevşehir, Turkey, pp. 107-113, Dec. 15-17, 2021.
22. A. Sadeghi, A. Moloodi, M. Golestanipour and M. M. Shahri, “An investigation of abrasive wear and corrosion behavior of surface repair of gray cast iron by SMAW”, Journal of Materials Research and Technology, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 90-95, 2017.
23. L. Collini, G. Nicoletto, R. Konecna, “Microstructure and mechanical properties of pearlitic gray cast iron”, Materials Science and Engineering A, vol. 488, pp. 529-539, 2008.
24. F. Okay, “An investigation of adhesive wear behavior of TiN coated austempered ductile iron with PVD”, M.S. thesis, Institute of Sciences, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey, 2006.
25. H. İ. Filiz, “The effect of microstructure on impact sliding wear behavior of aisi D2 cold work tool steels, M.S. thesis, Graduate Education Institute, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2021.
26. O. Tazegul, F. Muhaffel, O. Meydanoglu, M. Baydogan, E. S. Kayali and H. Cimenoglu, “Wear and corrosion characteristics of novel alumina coatings produced by micro arc oxidation on AZ91D magnesium alloy”, Surface & Coatings Technology, vol. 258, pp. 168-173, 2014.
27. B. Bilim, “Investigation of wear behaviour of hot dip aluminized tool steels produced by powder metallurgy”, M.S. thesis, Graduate Education Institute, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2021.
28. I. Şimşek, D. Şimşek and D. Özyürek, “Investigation of Wear Behaviors of Al-SiC Composite Materials Produced by Semi-Solid Process Method”, SETSCI Conference Proceedings, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 545-548, 2019.
29. S. İ. Akray, “The effect of coatings on wear characteristics of spherodial graphite cast iron”, M.S. thesis, Institute of Sciences, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2007.
30. A. Ayday, “Surface Properties Improvement of Nodular Cast Iron Modified by Electrolytic Plasma Technology”, PhD Thesis, Institute of Sciences, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey, 2013.
31. R. Arslan, “Döküm presi ile elde edilen magnezyum alaşımlarının mekanik özelliklerinin belirlenmesi”, M.S. thesis, Institute of Sciences, Kırşehir Ahi Evran University, Kırşehir, Turkey, 2019.