Wear resistant carbon fiber reinforced Stellite alloy composites

•Eliminate the disadvantages of carbides in Stellite alloys.•Improve tribological properties of Stellite alloys due to incorporation of carbon fibres.•Induce graphite films as solid lubricant because of the presence of carbon fibres.•Help dissipation of friction heat because of good thermal conductivity of carbon fibre.

Stellite alloys are a family of cobalt-based superalloys that are the main engineering materials used for severe corrosion, wear and high temperature environments. These alloys are strengthened by various carbides. However, the presence of carbides can cause many problems although they are main agents for wear resistance. This research attempts to develop a class of novel composite materials which substitute carbon of Stellite alloys with carbon fiber, aiming to minimize the disadvantageous effects of carbides in the alloys. Two types of carbon fiber, plain carbon fiber and nickel-coated carbon fiber, are employed in the composites. The new materials are fabricated using hot isostatic pressing (HIP) technique. The microstructures of these composites are analyzed to investigate if any carbides are induced due to incorporating carbon fibers. The tribological properties of these new composites are characterized on a pin-on-disk tribometer. The experimental results show that the developed composites exhibit better wear resistance than that of medium-carbon Stellite alloys and comparable wear resistance to that of high-carbon Stellite alloys.