Tribological Behaviors and Friction-Induced Vibration and Noise Performance of TC4 with Microporous Channels Filled by Sn-Ag-Cu and Nb2C.

Due to the excellent properties of titanium alloys, they are widely used in various fields. However, the poor tribological performance limits the further development of titanium alloys. In this paper, TC4 with microporous channels was manufactured by laser additive manufacturing technology. On this basis, TC4-Sn-Ag-Cu (TSAC) and TC4-Sn-Ag-Cu-Nb₂C (TSACN) self-lubricating materials were prepared. The friction and wear tests were carried out under dry friction conditions, and tribological behaviors and friction-induced noise were analyzed. The results show that TSACN self-lubricating composite has outstanding tribological properties and noise suppression performance. Compared with TC4, the friction coefficient and equivalent sound pressure level of TSACN are reduced by 20.1 and 6.7%, respectively. The excellent tribological properties are mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of microporous channel and Sn-Ag-Cu-Nb₂C. Microporous channel can promote the diffusing of lubricants and accelerate the formation rate of lubricating film; Nb₂C can enhance soft metal lubricant Sn-Ag-Cu to make the lubricating film more dense. The lubricating film can repair wear pits, furrows and other defects on the worn surface and avoid the direct contact between the counterpart ball and the sample, thereby improving the tribological properties of TC4 and reducing the friction-induced vibration and noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]