Micro-Tribological Behavior of Boron Carbide Self-Mated Pairs

Tribological behavior of B4C-SiC self-mated pairs was studied, and pre-oxidation treatment was adopted to improve the tribological properties of B4C-SiC. At the same SiC content, self-friction coefficient of B4C-SiC decreases with the increase of sliding distance, normal load, and sliding velocity; while the increasing of SiC content leads to increase of both self-friction coefficient and ware rate, which was determined to be within the range of 0.8×10-6~5.8×10-6 mm3·N-1·m-1. Pre-oxidation treatment of the B4C-SiC resulted in the formation of B2O3/H3BO3 lubricant layers, which effectively reduced the self-friction coefficient.