Effect of TiN Nanoparticles on the Friction and Wear Properties of Spark Plasma Sintered Fe-Cr-Ni

This study evaluated the dry sliding wear and friction behaviour of spark plasma sintered Fe-Cr-Ni (a duplex stainless steel known as SAF 2205) matrix with titanium nitride (TiN) nanoparticles as reinforcement. Tests were performed with a tribometer at a relative humidity and temperature of 50 % and 25 °C respectively. Three loads were employed for all 600 cycles tests. Thereafter, the wear mode and mechanism were microscopically examined. Results showed that the coefficient of friction for the nanocomposites were higher than that of the unreinforced SAF 2205 despite showing improved wear performance. Samples with lower TiN compositions exhibited mixed mode of wear mechanism but at higher TiN content, the adhesive mechanism prevails. This study established that increasing the addition of nanosized TiN confers better wear behaviour on spark plasma sintered SAF 2205