Effect of B₄C reinforcement on the dry sliding wear behaviour of Ti-6Al-4V/B₄C sintered composites using response surface methodology

The present investigation has been made to assess the influence of B₄C reinforced with Ti-6Al-4V matrix prepared by powder metallurgy route. High energy ball milling was used to prepare the composites. Cylindrical preforms were prepared using suitable die set assembly. The green preforms were sintered in the muffle furnace at 900°C for 1 h. Further the preforms were cooled inside the furnace till the room temperature has attained. SEM with EDS mapping analysis was used to evaluate the morphology and elemental confirmation of the prepared composite. The density and hardness of the samples are determined using Archimedes principle and Rockwell hardness testing machine. The wear resistance of the samples was determined by employing a pin on disc apparatus. The hardness of the composites (Ti-6Al-4V/10B₄C) was increased while comparing to the base material (Ti-6Al-4V) which is attributed to the presence of hard ceramic phase. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) five level central composite design approach was accustomed and it minimised the amount of experimental conditions and developed mathematical models among the key process parameters namely wt. % of B₄C, applied load and sliding distances to forecast the abrasive response of Specific Wear Rate (SWR) and Coefficient of Friction (CoF). Analysis of variance was used to check the validity of the developed model. The optimum parameters of specific wear rate and coefficient of friction were identified.