Abrasive wear of structural ceramics
- Uppsala Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Technology
- Swedish Ceramic Inst., Goeteborg (Sweden)
The three-body abrasive wear characteristics of four different ceramic materials were investigated. The work focused on the influence of the type of abrasive particles (alumina and silicon carbide) on the wear rate and the dominating wear mechanisms. A solid-state-sintered silicon carbide (SiC), a silicon carbide reinforced with titanium diboride particles (SiC-TiB{sub 2}) and two hot-pressed silicon carbide-whisker-reinforced alumina materials (WRA I and WRAII) were studied. Of the materials investigated, an alumina reinforced with 25 wt% silicon carbide whiskers showed the highest abrasive resistance. This was probably caused by a unique combination of high hardness and high fracture toughness with a dense and homogeneous microstructure. Depending on the test conditions, plastic deformation, intercrystalline and transcrystalline cracking, and fracture were the dominating wear mechanisms of the materials. The silicon carbide abrasive resulted in 5--10 times higher wear rate than the alumina abrasive. This was mainly caused by the higher hardness of silicon carbide (3015 HV) as compared to alumina (2130 HV). The mechanical properties--i.e., hardness and fracture toughness--cannot be used alone to predict the abrasive wear behavior of engineering ceramics. Instead, the microstructural features, of the surface and the near-surface material--including homogeneity, surface porosity, secondary phases, and defect-rich regions--are important in controlling wear.
- OSTI ID:
- 27960
- Journal Information:
- American Ceramic Society Bulletin, Vol. 74, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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