Friction and wear of whisker-reinforced ceramic composite bodies.

摘要

An overview of the wear behavior of such a recent material development as whisker-reinforced ceramics will necessarily depend on limited sources. In fact, the literature contains very few references to wear studies in materials of this type. Whisker composites are an emerging material and it could hardly be expected that their behavior would be well characterized at this time, particularly with regard to wear behavior. Results of whisker composite wear studies which have been performed at ORNL have been summarized, as have relevant published data. The results presented in this paper, however, do more to indicate the need for additional work than to offer a complete body of knowledge. The results contained within this proceedings may prove to be one of the most concentrated collections of information to date on this topic. A conclusion which may be drawn by this overview is that wear behavior in whisker-reinforced ceramics can be complex and requires careful examination. The results indicate that the increased strength and fracture toughness produced by the inclusion of whiskers in ceramics may be offset by the introduction of phase interfaces subject to the action of dynamic stress states. Examples have been presented in this paper of the well-known transition from mild to severe wear which is so characteristic not only of the wear of ceramics but of other materials, as well. Most ceramic wear testing to date indicates that unlubricated use of ceramics as machine components is not likely to be successful, except under very mild contact conditions. (ERA citation 15:032609)