SLIDING FRICTION OF CERAMICS - MECHANICAL ACTION OF THE WEAR DEBRIS

The wear behaviour of four commercially available structural ceramics (silicon carbide, SiAION, alumina and partially stabilized zirconia) was investigated at room temperature, under various conditions of sliding friction using closed dry and open lubricated systems. Primary emphasis was placed on the mechanical action of wear debris. It was thus demonstrated that the circulation of wear debris in the sliding interface simultaneously controls the wear rate and the friction response. The parameters which control the accumulation or the elimination of wear debris were determined. The wear behaviour of the examined ceramics was found to be highly dependent upon the quantity of entrapped wear debris. © 1990 Chapman and Hall Ltd.