Tribological performance of (TiB + La2O3)/IMI834 Ti-matrix composite treated by microscale laser shock peening without coating with different overlapping rates
摘要
Titanium matrix composites exhibit higher elastic modulus, strength, and hardness; however, interfacial bonding issues between the reinforcements and the matrix limit their application in engineering tribological components. In this study, microscale laser shock peening without coating (μLSPwC) was applied to the surface of (TiB + La2O3)/IMI834 Ti-matrix composite to enhance their tribological performance. The surface integrity and tribological performance before and after treatment were evaluated. The results show that μLSPwC treatment produced a unique periodic “peaks” and “valleys” surface morphology, induced compression of the near-surface β dendrites, and introduced a compressive residual stress (CRS) layer and a hardened layer to a certain depth, resulting in an increase in surface microhardness of up to ~ 17.86%. An overlapping rate of 30% was identified as an optimal parameter, under which the average coefficient of friction and wear rate decreased from 0.4 and 0.81 × 10−5 mm3/N·mm for the untreated specimen to 0.341 and 0.58 × 10−5 mm3/N·mm, respectively. The wear mechanism shifted from severe abrasive and adhesive wear toward predominantly abrasive wear, and the improvement in tribological performance was attributed to the synergistic effects of the unique surface morphology, compression of near-surface β dendrites, and the introduction of a CRS layer and a hardened layer.