Effect of adding carbides on dry sliding wear behaviour of steel matrix composites processed by metal injection moulding

Metal injection moulding (MIM) was used to process steel matrix composites reinforced with different amounts of vanadium carbide (VC) for tooling applications. The effects of adding VC on dry sliding wear behaviour have been investigated in detail using pin-on-disk and ball-on-flat tests. Final properties have been correlated with the microstructural analysis and XRD patterns. Increasing the amount of added VC has an inhibiting effect on the growth of the grains and larger amounts of particles are precipitated. These facts show that the microhardness and wear properties improve with higher amounts of additive. Thus, there is a tendency towards a better wear resistance with higher carbide additions. Additionally, better wear results have been obtained than those by conventional Powder Metallurgy (PM) using the same materials.