WEAR AND MICROSTRUCTURE IN FINE CERAMIC COATINGS

This paper presents a study of the wear resistance of two ceramic, plasma sprayed coatings of Al2O3 and Cr2O3. Tests were carried out using an LWF-1 standard machine, with lineal contact, under dry friction, abrasion and lubrication conditions. The purpose of the tests were to study how load and speed affect material wear. Results show the lower wear rate of the ceramic coating compared with the steel one, as well as how remarkably load affects wear. On the other hand, however, considering the speed ranges used, wear resistance does not depend significantly on speed. The paper proves that the wear process follows Czichos' law. At the same time, reformulation of Archard's equation allows us to quantify wear using easily measurable factors such as pressure, speed, hardness, and those factors typically featuring this type of coatings, e.g. porosity. Also, a micrographic study of the coatings carried out by means of a scanning electron microscope has evidenced three stages in the wear mechanism: (a) plastic deformation of particles; (b) crack nucleation and propagation; and (c) loosening of ceramic particles.