Microstructure Characterization, Optimization of Wear Parameters, and Mechanical Properties of SS304 Nanocomposites Produced by Powder Metallurgy for Aerospace Applications.
摘要
In the present work, neat stainless steel 304 (SS304) and two SS304 metal matrix nanocomposites (10% B4C and 5% B4C + 5% ZrO2) were fabricated using the powder metallurgy (PM) route. XRD, FESEM, microhardness, and wear tests (load: 10, 20, 30 N; velocity: 0.5, 1, and 1.5 m/s; and distance: 600, 1200, 1800 m) were conducted. Microstructure revealed uniform distribution of reinforcements within the SS304 matrix. XRD confirmed the alpha phase of the SS304 matrix without intermediate phases. Nanocomposite with 5% B4C + 5% ZrO2 showed a microhardness value of 385 HV revealing an increase of 58.4 % over neat SS304 and 24.2% increase over the nanocomposite with 10% B4C. Wear tests demonstrated that the nanocomposite with 5% B4C + 5% ZrO2 showed 35.68% lower wear than the nanocomposite with 10% B4C and 48.99% lesser wear than the neat SS304. The wear mechanisms identified were delamination, abrasion, and adhesion. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to model wear parameters. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) successfully predicted wear and CoF with 95% confidence indicating that the interaction terms: sliding velocity (SV) and percentage of reinforcement had a significant impact on both wear and CoF.