Tribological properties of low-cost titanium alloys by using rice husk as reinforcement

Abstract:

Wear performance and mechanism of Ti alloys strengthened by solid solute atoms Si and O from rice husk was studied from the viewpoint of wear rate, worn surface morphology and wear debris analysis. Results show that the volume wear rate of Ti alloys decreases significantly with the increase of the content of SiO₂, agreeing well with the change law of hardness. There are three changes of the worn surface with the increase of SiO₂ content, one is the deep grooves transferring to shallow scratches, second is the decrease of plastic deformation degree and the last one is the size and amount of adhesive debris. The decrease of debris size can be attributed to the embrittlement of wear dust due to the blending of the wear dust of counter grinding GCr15 ball as well as the Ti matrix itself. Wear mechanism also transfers from adhesive and abrasive wear of pure Ti to abrasive and oxidation wear with the increase of SiO₂ content. The result of this paper provides a cheap method to produce Ti alloys with excellent combination properties by using agricultural waste rice husk, which is also benefit for the environmental protection.

Key words:Low-cost Ti alloys; Rice husk SiO2; Tribology performance; Wear mechanism