Effect of Surface Micro-Texturing on Adhesion-Diffusion Wear Behavior of WC-8Co in Reciprocating Sliding

This study investigated the influence of surface micro-texturing on adhesion-diffusion wear behavior of the WC-8Co and revealed the wear mechanism of surface micro-texturing. The micro-grooved texture was prepared on WC-8Co by laser surface micro-texturing, and its wear resistance in contact with Ti6Al4V was evaluated through the reciprocating friction and wear test. The untextured WC-8Co was utilized as a control sample. The test results illustrated that the micro-groove on the WC-8Co was capable of anti-adhesion on the contact face, especially under high contact load. The anti-adhesion mechanism of the textured surface was resulted from the entrapment of debris by the micro-groove. Moreover, unlike the untextured WC-8Co, the wear of the textured WC-8Co initially derived from the breakage of the micro-groove edge, and subsequently propagated to the friction surface. This wear behavior was attributed to the high thermal load and mechanical stress concentration on the micro-groove edge, as well as the synergistic effects of WC grain growth during laser machining and element diffusion in the sliding friction process.