Tribological properties of Ti3SiC2

The present contribution reports the unlubricated friction and wear properties of Ti3SiC2 against steel. The fretting experiments were performed under varying load (1-10 N) and the detailed wear mechanism is studied using SEM-EDS, Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Under the selected fretting conditions, Ti3SiC2/steel tribocouple exhibits a transition in friction as well as wear behavior with coefficient of friction varying between 0.5 and 0.6 and wear rate in the order of 10(-5) mm(3).(N(.)m)(-1). Raman analysis reveals that the fretting wear is accompanied by the triboxidation with the formation of TiO2, SiO2, and Fe2O3. A plausible explanation for the transition in friction and wear with load is proposed.