Sliding wear of Ni-17.5Si-29.3Cr alloy under water lubrication

The tribological properties of Ni-17.5Si-29.3Cr alloy against Si3N4 under water lubrication conditions were studied on a ball-on-disc reciprocating 1tribotester. The effects of load and sliding speed on tribological properties of the alloy were investigated. The worn surfaces of the alloy were examined with SEM, TEM and an X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS). It was found that the tribological properties of the alloy were closely dependent on the sliding conditions. Wear rate with the load of the alloy increased slightly at low and moderate load and increased dramatically at high load. Wear rate with the sliding speed of the alloy increased slightly at low and moderate sliding speed and increased dramatically at high sliding speed, which showed the same trend as that with the load. The friction coefficient increased with the load (especially at high load), and decreased with sliding speed at low sliding speed and increased significantly at high sliding speed. Wear mechanism of the alloy was mainly microploughing and delamination at low and moderate load and transformed to microfracture and delamination at high load.