Perpetual effect of laser surface texturing on tribological properties of Ti₃SiC₂/GNP composite—A fretting wear study

Abstract

Tribological properties of Ti3SiC2 ceramic and Ti3SiC2/GNP composite were investigated using fretting sliding against Si3N4 ball counter body at a load of 50 N for a sliding distance of 900 m, under non‐textured lubricated (NTL), textured lubricated (TL) condition, and textured lubricated high temperature (TLHT). This paper presents the influence of laser surface texturing (LST) on Ti3SiC2 and its graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) reinforced composite established through spark plasma sintering (SPS), tested under fretting wear conditions. The coefficient of friction and wear rate of Ti3SiC2 and its graphene nanoplatelets reinforced composites were incontrovertibly enhanced with laser surface texturing as compared to non‐textured Ti3SiC2 and its GNP composite. The TL surface of Ti3SiC2 composite reinforced with 15% GNP showed the lowest COF and wear rate. Almost negligible changes were observed for TLHT tests. The LST proved to an efficient technique for enhancing the friction and wear properties of Ti3SiC2 and Ti3SiC2/GNP composite.