Analysis of wear properties and surface roughness of laser additive manufactured (LAM) Ti and TiB₂metal matrix composite

Industrial revolution in engineering materials applications through additive manufacturing has influenced the steel application in engineering industry. Limitations of wear of carbon steel has called for research focus in improving steel quality in wear resistance. Metallurgical applications of heat treatment were less effective as issues of temperature control; grain boundaries were evident. Matrix composite materials of better mechanical properties have been made use of to complement existing steel. This research focuses on the use of titanium, and titanium boride composite through laser cladding of addictive manufacturing. The admix composites were 'mixed at different mass ratio, laser power and scan rate. A computer aided design (CAD) of design expert 9 was used to design the optimized parameters for the experimental analysis. Thirteen runs of random parameters of varying laser power and scanning speed were executed. An optimized laser power of 1500 W and scan rate of 1.2 m/min were derived and utilized. Nanocomposites of Titanium and Titanium di boride was at ratio loaded and cladded on steel rail surface. Metallurgical characterization of microscopic and macroscopic view was carried out. Different microstructural evolution was studied and analyzed. The wear tests were carried out at different loads of 2 N, 5 N and 10 N, respectively. The wear volume and wear rate were calculated. The least wear rate and wear volume was at the 50/50 mix ratio. A correlation and relationship between the wear properties, surface roughness and composition were examined.