Relationship Between the Integrity of Lubricating Film and the Tribological Behavior on TiAl-Ag Self-Lubricating Composites
To explore the relationship between the integrity of the lubricating film and the tribological behavior of a metal matrix self-lubricating composite, the friction and wear experiments of TiAl-Ag self-lubricating composites were carried out with a ball-on-disk configuration. Besides, an approximate model was developed for analyzing the relationship based on Blau’s theory. The research results suggest that the friction and wear behavior of the TiAl-Ag self-lubricating composites changes in accordance with the formation conditions of the Ag-rich lubricating film. Specifically, the friction coefficients and wear rates of the TiAl-Ag self-lubricating composites decreased from high levels at full composite–counterface ball contact to low levels at full-film lubrication. Hence, the integrity of the lubricating film is a possible criterion for the self-lubricating property of the self-lubricating composites.