Effect of Heat Treatment on the Frictional Wear Properties of Zr-Based Amorphous Alloy

The effect of isothermal heat treatment and test temperature on the wear properties of Zr61Ti2Cu25Al12 amorphous alloy is investigated by wear tests. The results show that the wear mechanism of the as-cast amorphous alloy is dominated by abrasive wear, but it evolves into a combination of abrasive wear and adhesive wear after heat treatment. In addition, the oxidation behavior of amorphous alloy increases significantly with the increase in the heat treatment time. It is found that the wear mechanism changes significantly at different temperatures, and the abrasive wear in the furrow state is dominating at 25 °C, and with the temperature rising to 200 °C, the adhesive wear mechanism is obvious. The lamellar structure of the wear surface at 300 °C is revealed, along with a large number of microcracks at different degrees of expansion. The high-temperature wear testing environment makes the alloy oxidation resistance decrease. The coefficient of friction reaches a minimum of 0.42 at 300 °C, while the wear rate reaches the minimum at 100 °C, and the wear rate and hardness do not follow the Archard’s equation.