Friction and wear behavior of structural ceramics sliding against zirconia

Sliding wear behavior was investigated for three sintered structural ceramics against ZrO2. The ball-on-disk type wear test was performed by three different structural ceramic balls (ZrO2, Al2O3, and SiC) sliding against the ZrO2 disk. The coefficient of friction of the structural ceramics was nearly constant regardless of normal loads. It was relatively lower with SiC ball than the other cases. The specific wear rate of ZrO2 ball and SiC ball was the highest and the lowest in all cases. The couple with ZrO2–SiC showed the best operating conditions for friction and wear resistance. The results showed that the properties of the counter materials cause a difference in wear behavior. The main wear behavior of structural ceramic couples was abrasion. Second dominant wear behavior was plastic deformation in case of ZrO2–ZrO2 and brittle fracture in case of ZrO2–Al2O3. Especially, wear behavior of ZrO2–SiC showed mild abrasion, which resulted in a smooth worn surface and formation and delamination of tribofilm. In this case, the tribofilm consistently formed on the worn surfaces and it protected the structural ceramics from severe wear, and it reduced the coefficient of friction and wear volume.