Reciprocating sliding wear of 9% Cr steel in carbon dioxide at elevated temperatures

Experiments were conducted on the initial stages of reciprocating sliding wear of a 9% chromium steel in an environment of carbon dioxide at temperatures in the range 200 to 550°C. At ambient temperatures of 290°C and above, an initial severe wear mode was followed by a transition to mild oxidational wear. At any given ambient temperature above 290°C, the distance of sliding required to reach such a transition was found to depend on load and mean sliding speed, although the dependency on speed was not simple. When a transition occurred, most of the surfaces were covered with a stable oxide film which consisted of an agglomerate layer of wear debris being mainly of oxide at the surface and mainly at the metal boundary. This film was supported by a work hardened layer extending for about 30 μm into the bulk of the metal. A surface model is proposed to explain the mechanism of formation of the supportive oxide layer; predictions of volume of material removed and final oxide coverage at the transition are in close agreement with experimental values