Yuhong Dai, Y. Liu
In this study, TiC/Ti6Al4V composites with varying TiC contents (0 wt%, 1 wt%, 3 wt%, and 10 wt%) were fabricated via selective laser melting. Post-build annealing was performed immediately after the SLM process. The microstructure of the annealed composites was characterized, and reciprocating sliding friction tests were conducted to evaluate the tribological behavior under different loads (2 N, 10 N, 20 N, 30 N and 50 N) at room temperature. The results showed that the relative density of the composites decreases with increasing TiC content at a given energy density. The initially incorporated nano-sized TiC particles melted and were subsequently synthesized in situ during the SLM process. The solidification pathway and phase formation are influenced by the initial TiC content, resulting in distinct microstructural characteristics. For the 1 wt% TiC composite, there is no eutectic reaction occurs during the solidification process. The composition of the 3 wt% and 10 wt% composites placed them within the hypereutectic region, and both the primary and eutecticed TiC phase formed during solidification. The addition of TiC also resulted in a reduction in both the width and length of α laths, accompanied by an increase in the amount of irregularly blocky α phase. The average friction coefficient exhibited a non-monotonic trend with increasing load for a given TiC content, initially decreasing before rising again. The addition of nano-sized TiC particles did not lead to a discernible improvement in the wear resistance of the SLM-ed Ti6Al4V alloy, and even leads to deterioration in wear resistance under some test conditions.