Dry sliding wear behavior of ceramic-metal composite coatings prepared by plasma spraying of self-reacting powders

Ceramic-metal composite (CMC) coatings were deposited on the surface of Fe-0.14–0.22 wt.% C steel by plasma spraying of self-reacting Fe₂O₃−Al composite powders. The dry sliding friction and wear character of the CMC coatings are investigated in this paper. The wear resistance of the CMC coatings was significantly better than that of Al₂O₃ coatings under the same sliding wear conditions. The tough metal, which is dispersed in the ceramic matrix, obviously improved the toughness of the CMC coatings. Wear mechanisms of the CMC coatings were identified as a combination of abrasive and adhesive wear.