Paper XI (iii) Wear Debris Action in Sliding Friction of Ceramics

The wear behaviour of four commercially structural ceramics (silicon carbide, silicon nitride, alumina and partially stabilized zirconia) was invertigated under various conditions of applied loads (2 to 40 N) and sliding speeds (0.1 to 4 m/s) in dry and wet environment. Primary emphasis was placed on the mechanical action of wear debris. The quantity of entrapped wear debris and their circulation in the sliding interface simultaneously control the wear rate and the friction response of the examined ceramics. Friction increases and wear rate decreases when an accumulation of wear debris occurs. On the contrary, the elimination of wear debris leads to a lower coefficient of friction while wear enhances. The parameters which control the accumulation and the elimination of wear debris were identified.