Friction and wear behavior of 3D printed graphite/SiC composite self-lubricating materials with multi-materials and structures

Abstract

In this paper, selective laser sintering molding technology is used to assemble two materials, namely, flake graphite and spherical graphite, in the form of homogeneous mixing and layered combination, and at the same time, the flake graphite is oriented with 45°deflection to realize multi-materials and structure 3D printing, and then the graphite/SiC composite self-lubricating materials are prepared by melt infiltration silicon treatment. The study found that both the homogeneous mixed type and the layered combination type, with a layer thickness of 1 mm, exhibit excellent friction and wear reduction properties. While forming a uniform and continuous graphite lubrication film, the surface pits facilitate the collection of hard abrasive particles, thereby reducing abrasive wear. Furthermore, the small-sized spherical graphite transitions from sliding to rolling due to the ball bearing effect, resulting in a composite material with a low coefficient of friction (0.15–0.16) and a wear rate of (3.18–5.93 ×10⁻⁵ mm³/Nm).