Wear and corrosion properties of spark plasma sintered Ti6Al4V– Al2O3 composites

Applications of Ti6Al4V alloy are limited due to its poor wear resistance. The wear resistance properties can be improved by the addition of ceramics to form metal matrix composites. The wear and corrosion resistance properties of Spark Plasma Sintered Ti6Al4V–Al2O3 composites have been investigated. The composites were sintered at 50 MPa at a temperature of 850 oC for 5 min in a vacuum environment. The composite samples were characterised based on microstructure, relative density and hardness. The wear tests were conducted in a dry environment under varying sliding loads whilst potentiodynamic polarization behaviour was carried out in 3.5 wt% NaCl. A maximum microhardness of 424 HV0.1 was attained at 10 wt% Al2O3 addition. Ti6Al4V reinforced with 3 wt% Al2O3 exhibited improved hardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance in a 3% NaCl environment.