Investigations on wear and liquid metal corrosion behavior of aluminized IN-RAFMS

Friction and wear properties of the pack aluminized IN-RAFMS were studied at different loads and frequencies under reciprocative sliding, using a counterbody of cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) and hardened steel ball. The value of COF and specific wear rate were measured as 0.6 and 4.5 × 10⁻⁵ mm³/N-m, respectively at 20 N load and 10 Hz frequency, for the as-coated aluminized IN-RAFMs using WC-Co counterbody. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were used to analyze the wear mechanism and chemistry of debris. Abrasive wear was the main mechanism identified for uncoated steel, while tribo-oxidation was found to be the main wear mechanism for aluminized steel. A finite element (FE) model was developed to predict thermal stress and coating integrity in coating interface during thermal cycling. The aluminized RAFMS having Fe₂Al₅ phase as the coating layer was found to be corrosion resistant in static lead-lithium eutectic and showed promising compatibility when tested at 500 °C for 500 h.