Materials & Design (Aug 2025)

Mechanical property and wear behavior of graphene-reinforced Ti-6Al-4V prepared by vacuum arc melting

  • Rongyang Zhao,
  • Baoxian Su,
  • Yinling Jin,
  • Xiangyu Sun,
  • Jiaxin Du,
  • Hongle Tan,
  • Binbin Wang,
  • Qian Yang,
  • Yongsheng Yu,
  • Liang Wang,
  • Yanqing Su

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2025.114368
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 256
p. 114368

Abstract

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The introduction of graphene endows metals with excellent lubricating properties during friction and wear processes. However, in titanium matrix composites (TMCs), especially during vacuum arc melting with high temperature, intense chemical reactions occur between graphene and Ti, making it difficult to achieve the expected lubricating effect because graphene loses its intact structure. In this study, few-layered graphene (FLG)/SiC/Ti-6Al-4 V (TC4) composite were fabricated using vacuum arc melting methods. Results indicated that the introduction of SiC inhibited the chemical reaction between FLG and the matrix, protecting the structural integrity of FLG and enabling it to exert its self-lubricating effect. After adding SiC accounting for 30 wt% of the FLG content, the tensile strength and the tensile modulus of the TMCs increased by 11.74 % and 29.35 % compared with that of TC4, and the wear rate of the TMCs decreased by 52.15 % compared with that of TC4 and by 49.24 % compared with that of the TMCs without SiC addition. With the increase in SiC content, the wear mode changed, and plastic deformation and adhesive wear gradually disappeared.

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