Friction and wear properties of Ni-Cr-W-Al-Ti-MoS2 at elevated temperatures and self-consumption phenomena

The composites of Ni-Cr-W-Al-Ti-MoS2 with different adding amount of molybdenum disulfide (6-20 wt.%) were prepared by powder metallurgy (P/M) method. Their mechanical properties and tribological properties from room temperature to 600 °C were tested by a pin-on-disk tribometer. The effects of amounts of molybdenum disulfide, temperature, load, and speed on the friction and wear properties of composite were discussed. Besides, the tribological properties against different counterface materials, such as alumina, silicon nitride and nickel-iron-sulfide alloys were also investigated. Results indicated that the molybdenum disulfide was decomposed during the hot-press process and the eutectic sulfides of chromium were formed. The hardness and anti-bending strength can be improved by adding 6 wt.% molybdenum disulfide due to reinforcement of molybdenum. The friction coefficients and wear rates of composites decrease with the increase of adding amount of molybdenum disulfide until a critical value of 12 wt.%. The composite with 12% MoS2 shows the optimum friction and wear properties over the temperature range of RT ∼600 °C. The friction coefficients of composite with 12% MoS2 decrease with the increase of temperature, load, and sliding speed, while the wear rates increase with the increasing temperature and are insensitive to the sliding speed and load. The friction coefficients of less than 0.20 at 600 °C and mean wear rates of 10−5 mm3/N m are obtained when rubbing against alumina due to the lubrication of sulfide films and glaze layer formed on the friction surface at high temperature, while a relatively low wear rate of around 10−6 mm3/N m presents when rubbing against nickel-iron-sulfide alloys. At high temperature, wear rates of composite containing sulfide are inversely proportional to friction coefficients approximately.