Erosion-Corrosion Behavior of TiC-Based Cermets with Fe-Ni Binder in Artificial Seawater

TiC-based cermets are promising candidates for marine wear-resistant components; however, achieving a balance between mechanical performance, erosion-corrosion resistance, and binder cost remains a major challenge. In this work, TiC-xFe-(15-x)Ni (x = 0, 5, 10 and 15 wt.%) cermets were fabricated by vacuum liquid-phase sintering to clarify the influence of Fe/Ni binder composition on the microstructure, mechanical properties, electrochemical behavior, and erosion-corrosion resistance in SiO₂-containing artificial seawater. The results indicate that the Fe content has a significant impact on liquid-phase sintering behavior, thereby affecting the densification of cemented carbides. The combination of TiC-5Fe-10Ni achieved the highest relative density (98.89%), Vickers hardness (1618 HV), and fracture toughness (10.26 MPa·m^1/2), while also exhibiting the lowest corrosion current density in electrochemical corrosion tests. In contrast, TiC-10Fe-5Ni cemented carbide showed the lowest cumulative mass loss in long-term erosion-corrosion tests. Conversely, excessive Fe addition leads to suboptimal performance. The performance improvement is mainly attributed to densification and reduced residual porosity achieved through the optimization of liquid-phase sintering, which provides an effective strategy for designing cost-effective TiC-based composites with balanced mechanical properties and long-term corrosion and erosion resistance.