Dry reciprocating sliding wear behavior and mechanisms of bulk metallic glass composites

The dry sliding wear behavior and mechanisms in a bulk metallic glass composite, Ti48Zr20V12Cu5Be15, composed of in situ crystalline dendrites in an amorphous matrix, was studied in reciprocating mode against a WC counterface loaded at 5 N and 10 N. The composite showed higher wear rates but lower coefficient of friction compared to a monolithic fully amorphous glass. Nanomechanical characterization was done to map the hardness and modulus of the crystalline and amorphous constituents of the composite. Nano-scratch test was done on each phase to evaluate the coefficient of friction. The observed hardness values scale according to Archard's relationship for sliding wear behavior. No tribolayer formation was seen for the composite in sharp contrast to that of the monolithic metallic glass.