TIG Surface Alloying of Ti-6Al-4V with Nitrogen and Chromium for Improved Tribological Properties

Due to special properties such as low density, high strength and high corrosion resistance Ti-6Al-4V alloy has been used extensively in various industries, especially in the aerospace aspects. However the major problem of this alloy is its poor tribological properties under relatively high loads. In the present study, in order to improve the tribological properties of mentioned alloy, chromium particles were added to Ti-6Al-4V layers in the nitrogen-containing atmosphere during the Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding process. Microstructural investigations using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy, proved the formation of TiN, TiCr2 and Cr2N particles in the matrix of hard titanium phase. The hardness of TIG alloyed layer increased to 1000 HV0.3 which was 4 times higher than that of the base alloy. Moreover, the wear rate of TIG alloyed samples with chromium and nitrogen under 30N load and distance of 1000 m was 5.9 times lower than that of the bare Ti-6Al-4V alloy.