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Experimental study of microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of cBN particulates SS316 alloy based MMCs fabricated by DMLS technique

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Abstract

Direct metal laser sintering process (DMLS) was chosen to develop cBN particulates reinforced SS316 based Metal matrix composite (MMC) with 5 %, 7.5 % and 10 % cBN in the nitrogen gas atmosphere using continuous wave fibre laser of 400 W output capacity. Effects of process parameters such as laser power, beam scanning speed and the mixing ratio of powder on different physical properties of the developed MMC were investigated. It was found that the physical and mechanical properties such as friction and wear behavior, micro hardness and density come up with improved results. FESEM images indicate the microstructure of the composite and evidently confirms the presence of cubic boron nitride in the SS316 matrix where chromium nitride acted as a binder in the presence of nitrogen atmosphere. The Vickers hardness values of the developed MMCs with laser power 60 W and 65 W were found in the range of 276-478 HV0.2 and 297-460 HV0.2, respectively. It was found that Vickers hardness is directly proportional to the % of cBN in the powder mixture and the laser beam power. The wear resistance of the sintered MMCs increased with increasing cBN content in powder mixture and results show that wear of MMCs are much lower than that of SS316. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the fabricated MMC confirms the presence of different phases such as cBN, CrN, CrB2, Cr2N and Fe3N as a consequence of a series of chemical reaction between cBN and different elements of SS316 in nitrogen atmosphere.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, Jharkhand, 826004, India

    M. Hussain, V. Mandal, P. K. Singh, P. Kumar, V. Kumar & A. K. Das

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  1. M. Hussain
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  2. V. Mandal
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  3. P. K. Singh
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  4. P. Kumar
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  5. V. Kumar
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  6. A. K. Das
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Correspondence to A. K. Das.

Additional information

Recommended by Editor Chongdu Cho

Manowar Hussain received his M.Tech. degree in 2014 and now pursuing Ph.D. from IIT (ISM), Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India. His research interests include non-conventional machining process with laser processing, and rapid prototyping, micro and nano technology and material charcterizations.

Alok Kumar Das is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad (India). He received his Ph.D. from the IIT Kharagpur, (India) in 2011. His research interests include Micromanufacturing, Non-traditional Machining, Composite materials processing technology, Nano-materials.

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Hussain, M., Mandal, V., Singh, P.K. et al. Experimental study of microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of cBN particulates SS316 alloy based MMCs fabricated by DMLS technique. J Mech Sci Technol 31, 2729–2737 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-0516-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-0516-3

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