Abstract
In this study, high temperature friction behaviour of spark plasma sintered graphite reinforced binderless TiC0.7N0.3 based ceramic composite was investigated. Archimedes principle was used to evaluate the relative density of the sintered compact. Subsequently, microstructural characterization was performed prior micro-hardness tests. High temperature friction behaviour of the sintered composites was performed at 5 N and 10 N to determine the wear properties of the ceramic composites. The findings from this study demonstrated that the presence of graphite greatly influenced the properties of binderless TiC0.7N0.3 based ceramic composite. Sintered density of 99.6 % was achieved when 1.0 wt% of graphite was used and the frictional behaviour of composite B2 showed reduced coefficient of friction values at both loads. The results obtained on wear tests clearly indicated the lubricating tendency of graphite on TiCN composites.