Tribological behavior of duplex titanium-aluminum alloys at the nanoscale under different vibration amplitudes

Abstract Duplex titanium-aluminum alloy materials have a widespread application prospect. However, understanding material wear and defect evolution under friction with different vibration amplitudes is still limited. Therefore, in this study, the anisotropy factor, atomic displacement, residual stress, temperature, dislocation density, and number of defective atoms of the forces applied to the material during friction of dual-phase titanium-aluminum alloys with different vibrational amplitudes are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The simulation results show that an increase in vibration amplitude leads to a decrease in the total force applied to the substrate, and the material will be stressed more uniformly. The γ -phase atoms did not pass through the two-phase interface at each vibration amplitude, and the residual stresses were also primarily located in the abrasive chips and at the two-phase interface. At the same time, many atomic structures of the γ -phase are damaged under the friction of the large vibrational amplitude, making it easier for the wear ball to accumulate the abrasive atoms on the sides. In addition, the generation of edge-type dislocations was not proportionally related to the growth of the vibration amplitude. The intertwining of numerous dislocations within the γ -phase hinders the development of dislocations and improves the matrix’s deformation resistance. Many atoms are gradually amorphized by friction at large vibrational amplitudes.