Wear Characteristics of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy at 20-400°C

Tribo-oxides of titanium alloy are usually reported to provide low protection from wear. However, in this research, tribo-oxides provide a protective effect for wear. Dry sliding wear tests were performed for Ti-6Al-4V alloy under loads of 50-250 N at 20-400 degrees C. Ti-6Al-4V alloy presented different wear behavior at 400 degrees C than at 20-200 degrees C. At 20 degrees C, the wear loss increased linearly with increased load. The wear loss at 200 degrees C marginally increased under 50-150 N loads and increased rapidly under a load of 200 N, slightly higher than at 20 degrees C. At 400 degrees C, the wear loss decreased under loads of 50-100 N, slightly increased and had the lowest value under loads of 100-200 N, and finally increased rapidly at loads above 200 N. The prevailing oxidative mild wear and the lowest wear loss at 400 degrees C were attributed to the protective effect of tribo-oxides.