Characterization of wear behavior of steel and ceramics in the VAMAS round robin tests

Abstract The first and the second wear round robin tests within the framework of the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS) have been performed with materials combinations of α-Al 2 O 3 , Si 3 N 4 and AISI 52100 steel under given sliding conditions of the ball-on-disk test system. The results, as reported elsewhere, showed a characteristic wear behavior depending on the material pairing. To obtain a deeper understanding of the wear behaviors of these materials, some additional observations and analyses of the worn surfaces were conducted by means of various observations and analytical tools, such as topographic scanning electron microscopy, micro-Fourier transform IR and so on. It was shown that the wear of the steel and Si 3 N 4 was not a simple process, but had a complex manner in that both tribo-oxidation action and abrasive action of the steel and Si 3 N 4 wear particles contributed to the higher wear of these materials.