Original Article

Effect of Bi-phased nanoparticles on the microstructure and anti-wear performance of As-cast carbon steel

¹ College of Mechanical Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, PR China
² Zhejiang XCC Group Co., LTD, Xinchang, Shaoxing 312500, PR China
³ School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China

^* e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: 10 October 2025
Accepted: 26 February 2026

Abstract

The present study investigated the influences of TiC-TiB₂ nanoparticles on the as-cast microstructure and wear properties of carbon steels. The addition of nanoparticles suppressed the formation of widmanstatten structures during solidification. The pearlite content increased from 26.3% to 36.7%. The grain size was refined, which was reduced from 58.3 μm to 42.8 μm. In the ball-on-disk rotational sliding wear test, the nanoparticle-reinforced carbon steels exhibited enhanced wear resistance. The wear volume loss rate was reduced by up to 28.7%. The morphology of wear tracks was primarily dominated by adhesive wear. Material peeling and material smearing were significant within the worn areas of the carbon steels without nanoparticles. Also, some localized regions had the grooves which indicated the abrasive wear. After adding the nanoparticles, the adhesive wear and abrasive wear were reduced. The plastic deformation of worn surfaces was inhibited. The findings of this study suggested a viable strategy for improving the anti-wear performance of metallic materials by using the ceramic nanoparticles.