Friction and wear behavior of TaC ceramic layer formed in-situ on the gray cast iron

Abstract In order to improve the friction and wear properties of gray cast iron surface, TaC ceramic layer was prepared by in-situ casting-heat treatment. TaC ceramic layer was analyzed by XRD, SEM and EDS. Hardness of the TaC layer was obtained by nanoindentation. Under the loading of 20 N at room temperature, the friction coefficient values, the wear rate and the wear weight loss of TaC layer were 0.17, 11.3 × 10 −5 mm 3 /Nm and 2.4 mg, respectively. At room temperature, the wear mechanism is dominated by abrasive wear at low load (5 N, 10 N, 15 N), the abrasive wear and slight adhesive wear at high load (20 N). The wear form of TaC layer can be divided into three categories according to the temperature changes.