Boron influence on wear resistance in nickel-based alloys

Nickel-based alloys are used in aerospace, aeronautical, nuclear, chemical and petrochemical applications due to their high resistance to corrosion, wear, and good mechanical properties. The aim of the present study is to know the wear resistance in Ni-B-Si alloys. Four disc specimens with different compositions 0.4, 1.0, 1.7, and 3 wt% of boron were prepared by centrifugal casting and tested in a pin-on-disk tribometer carried with friction coefficient system measurement. Each of the specimens was characterized with metallographic techniques, scanning electronic microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction, roughness and hardness test. Results showed that there is an increase of the Ni3B intermetallic as B was increased, thus the specimen with the highest level of boron had 10 times minor wear than the specimen with the lowest level, finally hardness test displayed an important increment from 26 to 53 HRC as the Ni3B level was increased.