Wear behavior of Al2O3-TiCN composite ceramic sliding on stainless steel

It is well known that austenitic stainless steel AISI302 is relatively difficult to cut. In order to investigate the wear behavior of Al₂O₃-TiCN composite ceramic when machining austenitic stainless steels, a blockon-ring tribometer was used to simulate a real machining process. The test results showed that the wear of both the ceramic and the stainless steel increased rapidly with increasing load and speed. The boundary lubrication actions of water and oil used in this test could not reduce the wear of the rubbing materials. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analyses identified material transferred between the ceramic and the stainless steel surfaces in rubbing process. On the one hand, stainless steel transferred on the ceramic surface because of adhesion; on the other, some ceramic fragments caused by microfracture of the ceramic were found to be embedded in the worn stainless steel surface. The wear of Al₂O₃-TiCN ceramic sliding against stainless steel was caused primarily by adhesion between the rubbing surfaces and the microfracture of the ceramic.