Reciprocating sliding friction and wear behavior of electrical discharge machined zirconia-based composites against WC-Co cemented carbide

摘要

The tribological characteristics of hot pressed zirconia-based composites containing 40 vol. percent of WC, TiC_(0.5)N_(0.5) or TiN and surface finished by electrical discharge machining (EDM) were evaluated by performing linearly reciprocating pin-on-flat sliding experiments against WC-Co cemented carbide under unlubricated conditions. The wear tests were executed on a Plint TE77 tribometer using normal contact loads of 15 N up to 35 N and a sliding velocity of 0.3 m/s. The ZrO_2-40 vol. percent WC grade displayed an undoubtedly better wear resistance compared to the ZrO_2-40 vol. percent TiCN and ZrO_2-40 vol. percent TiN composites. The morphology of the worn surfaces and the wear debris was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), revealing several wear mechanisms such as polishing and abrasion, mainly depending on the imposed contact load and the material composition.