Wear Behavior of Vanadium and V-Ti-Ta Alloys under Reciprocating Sliding Conditions

Vanadium and newly developed V-Ti-Ta alloys have been systematically investigated for wear characteristics using ball-on-flat reciprocative sliding experiments. These materials have been tested at different sliding conditions (load and frequency) against hardened steel (AFBMA Grade 10) ball as counter-body. Coefficient of friction, wear volume and specific wear rate were measured and evaluated. Friction coefficient of vanadium and its alloys increases with increase in applied load irrespective of sliding frequencies. Wear rate decreases with increase in alloying content. Among the investigated compositions, V-4Ti-7Ta alloy exhibited superior wear performance having a least wear rate of 3.06 × 10⁻⁶ mm³/Nm, which is three times lower as compared with unalloyed vanadium when tested at 5 N and 5 Hz conditions. Addition of Ti and Ta strengthens the vanadium matrix by solid solution and contributes to enhanced wear resistance of the material without affecting the friction coefficient values. The major phases identified in the wear track regions were V₂O₅ and Fe_0.11V₂O_5.15. Microstructural investigation reveals the predominant presence of adhesive wear regions at higher loads (15 N).