High-temperature tribological behaviors of ZrO2/h-BN/SiC composite under air and vacuum environments

Abstract ZrO2/h-BN/SiC composite with good mechanical properties was fabricated using spark plasma sintering method and the high-temperature tribological properties under air and vacuum environments were investigated in detail. The results indicated that the friction and wear properties was highly respective of testing atmosphere and temperature. The composite exhibited outstanding lubricating properties under vacuum condition, as low as below 0.30 of friction coefficient above 800 oC. Overall, h-BN was beneficial for lubricating but detrimental to wear resistance at high temperatures. The lubricating and wear mechanisms related to the environmental atmosphere and temperature were discussed.