Dry sliding wear behavior of Al2O3-SiC submicro- and nano-composites

The wear behavior of a pure alumina matrix and two Al2O3-based composites, one with 5 vol% SiC nanosized particles (mean size 52 nm) and the other with 5 vol% SiC sub-microsized particles (mean size 230 nm), was studied in two different experimental conditions corresponding to mild and severe wear regime, respectively. Whether considering the friction or the wear resistance, in the mild regime no difference was observed among the materials. In the severe regime, the composites performed much better than the matrix alone due to stronger grain boundaries. The SiC particle size had no influence on the mean wear resistance.