Wear of aligned silicon nitride under dry sliding conditions

• Published in: Wear 2009-01, Vol.266 (1), p.6-12
• Main Authors: Belmonte, M., Miranzo, P., Osendi, M.I., Gomes, J.R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Exact sciences and technology; Fracture mechanics (crack, fatigue, damage...); Friction, wear, lubrication; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Grain alignment; Machine components; Mechanical engineering. Machine design; Microstructure; Physics; Seeding; Silicon nitride; Solid mechanics; Structural and continuum mechanics; Wear
• ISSN: 0043-1648; 1873-2577
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wear.2008.05.004

The wear behaviour of textured silicon nitride (Si 3N 4) ceramics with aligned microstructures was analyzed under abrasive wear conditions. Dry reciprocating self-mated ball-on-flat wear tests were performed to study the influence of different microstructural plane/orientation combinations on the Si 3N 4 tribological behaviour. Textured materials showed superior wear resistance than non-textured reference Si 3N 4 for the whole range of loads and contact pressures, 5–50 N and 1.7–3.6 GPa, respectively, with an increase of about 70% for the maximum applied load. Within textured materials, the plane perpendicular to the extruding direction exhibited a 50% higher wear resistance (4 × 10 −5 mm 3 N −1 m −1) than the parallel plane where the elongated grains were aligned. The severe wear process involved debonding, fracture and debris formation mechanisms. The progress of this sequence depended on the particular microstructure of each plane/orientation combination. A relationship between abrasive wear resistance and selected microstructural parameters has been established.