Wear of silicon carbide in high speed sliding

Attritious wear of silicon carbide rubbing against a cobalt base superalloy at high speed was studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an Auger electron spectroscope (AES). The SEM study of the wear area on the silicon carbide grain showed it to be very smooth. The AES study of the groove-like marking generated by a silicon carbide grain showed a heavy concentration of carbon in areas where submicron wear debris was present. No indication of chemical reaction of the abrasive with the work material was evident. Instead, it appears that the surface atoms on the abrasive are removed preferentially, layer by layer, by oxidation under high temperature and a favorably directed shear stress.