Effect of nanorelief structure formed in situ on tribological properties of ceramics in dry sliding

• Published in: Ceramics international 2019-08, Vol.45 (11), p.13818-13824
• Main Authors: Zhang, Wei, Yamashita, Seiji, Kumazawa, Takeshi, Ozeki, Fumihito, Hyuga, Hideki, Kita, Hideki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Boron carbide; Friction; In situ; Nanorelief structure; Silicon carbide; Wear
• ISSN: 0272-8842; 1873-3956
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.04.078

Nanorelief structure formed on the surface of B4C–SiC ceramics by an in-situ method is reported. The nanorelief structure formed by the in-situ method, which differs from the relief structure produced by laser treatment, results from preferential wearing of SiC particles, which have lower hardness, by free diamond particles and mixed wear particles of B4C and SiC during polishing and sliding, respectively. The effect of the nanorelief structure formed by the in-situ method on the sliding dry friction against a SiC ball is examined using a pin-on-disk tribometer. A comparison of dry sliding of the B4C–SiC composite ceramics with nanorelief structure to that of SiC ceramics without nanorelief structure reveals that B4C–SiC composite ceramics have a lower coefficient of friction and a significantly lower specific wear rate than the SiC ceramics. Worn surface analysis indicates that the nanorelief structure does not disappear after a dry sliding test. The depth of the nanorelief structure formed by the in-situ method ranges from 10 to 40 nm. The friction and wear results are associated with the nanorelief structure formed by the in-situ method.