Friction and Wear of Ceramics

A special issue of Lubricants (ISSN 2075-4442).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 5681

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Interests: ceramics; ultra-high temperature ceramics; thermal insulating materials; composites; friction; wear

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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Interests: ceramics (amorphous alloys, ceramic/metal composite components) lubricating wear-resistant; in-situ integrated connection technology of ceramics and metals; life prediction and control theory of composite materials (ceramic/metal composite components) under extreme service environments

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Interests: ceramics; lubrication sealing materials; surface technology and protection; ultra-high temperature lubrication

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

Ceramics are the materials of choice as surface coatings or bulks in harsh environments due to their unique combination of good high temperature stability, high hardness and strength, light weight, and excellent corrosion resistance. The relatively high coefficients of friction and wear rates, however, have impeded their practical applications as mechanical moving parts. To overcome these obstacles, a fundamental understanding of the friction and wear behavior and failure mechanisms and vigorous efforts to develop ceramic-based lubricants have become important. As such, this Special Issue will provide a platform for scientists and engineers to present their recent achievements in tribological properties of ceramics and ceramic matrix composites, new ceramic-based lubricants and new material design paradigms. Papers on the design, fraction and wear, and lubricating properties of high-entropy ceramics, films and coatings are welcome. We expect that major developments are pursued to tackle the challenges in harsh environment lubrication.

Prof. Dr. Yanchun Zhou
Prof. Dr. Yongsheng Zhang
Dr. Hengzhong Fan
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • ceramics
  • ultra-high temperature ceramics
  • composites
  • friction
  • tribology
  • lubrication

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 6947 KiB  
Article
Effects of Intermetallic NiAl Particle Content on Friction and Wear of Spark Plasma-Sintered Alumina Matrix Composites
by Nay Win Khun, Mingyue Huang, Zhong Alan Li, He Zhang, Khiam Aik Khor, Jinglei Yang and Fei Duan
Lubricants 2025, 13(3), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants13030101 - 25 Feb 2025
Viewed by 362
Abstract
The spark plasma sintering (SPS) technology was applied to develop alumina matrix composites (Al2O3MCs) with different nickel-aluminium (NiAl) particle contents of 5–20 wt.% to understand a correlation between their NiAl particle contents and their microstructures, fracture, hardness, friction, and [...] Read more.
The spark plasma sintering (SPS) technology was applied to develop alumina matrix composites (Al2O3MCs) with different nickel-aluminium (NiAl) particle contents of 5–20 wt.% to understand a correlation between their NiAl particle contents and their microstructures, fracture, hardness, friction, and wear. The incorporation of NiAl particles suppressed micrograins and micropores in the microstructures of the Al2O3MCs, which resulted in their improved fracture resistance. Increasing the NiAl particle content from 0 to 20 wt.% gave rise to a 23.9% decrease in the hardness of the Al2O3MCs. The Al2O3MCs had 18.2% and 13.3% decreases in their friction coefficients and 68.3% and 81.3% decreases in their specific wear rates under the normal loads of 2 and 6 N, respectively, with an increased NiAl particle content from 0 to 20 wt.% thanks to their decreased fatigue wear. The SPS Al2O3MCs with NiAl particles had promising tribological performance for rotating gas turbine components. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear of Ceramics)
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14 pages, 9231 KiB  
Article
Microstructure, Mechanical, and Tribological Properties of SiC-AlN-TiB2 Multiphase Ceramics
by Maoyuan Gong, Hai Zhang, Wanxiu Hai, Meiling Liu and Yuhong Chen
Lubricants 2024, 12(12), 412; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants12120412 - 26 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 701
Abstract
SiC multiphase ceramics were prepared via spark plasma sintering using AlN and TiB2 as the second phase and Y2O3 as a sintering additive. The effects of TiB2 content (10 vol.% and 20 vol.%) and sintering temperature (1900 °C [...] Read more.
SiC multiphase ceramics were prepared via spark plasma sintering using AlN and TiB2 as the second phase and Y2O3 as a sintering additive. The effects of TiB2 content (10 vol.% and 20 vol.%) and sintering temperature (1900 °C to 2100 °C) on the phase composition, microstructure, and mechanical and tribological properties of SiC multiphase ceramics were investigated. The results showed that Y2O3 reacts with Al2O3 on the surface of AlN to form the intercrystalline phase Y4Al2O9 (YAM), which promotes the densification of the multiphase ceramics. The highest density of SiC multiphase ceramics was achieved at 10 vol.% TiB2 content. Moreover, TiB2 and SiC exhibited good interfacial compatibility. In turn, a thin solid-solution layer (~50 nm) was formed by SiC and AlN at the interface. The periodic structure of SiC prevented the dislocation movement and inhibited the base plane slip. The most optimal mechanic characteristics (a density of 98.3%, hardness of 28 GPa, fracture toughness of 5.7 MPa·m1/2, and bending strength of 553 MPa) were attained at the TiB2 content of 10 vol.%. The specific wear rates of SiC multiphase ceramics were (4–8) × 10−5 mm3/N·m at 25 °C and 2.5 × 10−5 mm3/N·m at 600 °C. The wear mechanism changed from abrasion at 25 °C to a tribo-chemical reaction at 600 °C. Therefore, adding lubricious oxides of TiB2 is beneficial for the improvement in wear resistance of SiC ceramics at 600 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear of Ceramics)
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11 pages, 5740 KiB  
Article
Friction and Wear Mechanisms of Ti3SiC2/Cu Composites under the Synergistic Effect of Velocity–Load Field at 800 °C
by Rui Zhang, Bo Lei, Biao Chen and Fuyan Liu
Lubricants 2024, 12(8), 265; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants12080265 - 24 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1081
Abstract
Ti3SiC2/Cu composites were prepared using spark plasma sintering technology, and the effect of the velocity–load bivariate on the tribological behaviors of the Ti3SiC2/Cu-45# steel tribo-pair at 800 °C was investigated. The physical change and frictional [...] Read more.
Ti3SiC2/Cu composites were prepared using spark plasma sintering technology, and the effect of the velocity–load bivariate on the tribological behaviors of the Ti3SiC2/Cu-45# steel tribo-pair at 800 °C was investigated. The physical change and frictional chemical reaction during the friction process were analyzed based on the morphology characterization and frictional interface phases. The related friction and wear mechanism model was established. The results showed that the influence of velocity and load on the tribological performance of the Ti3SiC2/Cu-45# steel tribo-pair was not monotonically linear. When both the velocity and load were large, the coordinated effect of the two led to a low friction coefficient (0.52). At 800 °C, the velocity mainly affected the exfoliation and re-formation of the oxide film on the wear surface of the Ti3SiC2/Cu-45# steel tribo-pair, while the load affected the extrusion and fragmentation of the oxide film on the wear surface of the tribo-pair. In the friction process, frictional oxidation was the main influencing factor for the formation of the oxide film. When the velocity and load were small, the main frictional oxide consisted of SiO2−x and a small amount of CuO. When the velocity reached 1 m/s and the load reached 3 N, the oxide film was partially broken down and flaked off, and the matrix of the Ti3SiC2/Cu composite was exposed and oxidized, at which time the oxide film was composed of SiO2−x, TiO2, CuO, and Fe2O3. Under the synergistic effect of the velocity–load–temperature field, the friction and wear mechanism of the Ti3SiC2/Cu-45# steel tribo-pair changed from abrasive wear to frictional oxidation wear with the increase in velocity and load. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear of Ceramics)
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16 pages, 9655 KiB  
Article
Research on the Preparation of Zirconia Coating on Titanium Alloy Surface and Its Tribological Properties
by Qiancheng Zhao, Li Wang, Tianchang Hu, Junjie Song, Yunfeng Su and Litian Hu
Lubricants 2024, 12(5), 154; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants12050154 - 28 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1475
Abstract
Titanium alloys have been widely used in aerospace and other fields due to their excellent properties such as light weight and high strength. However, the extremely poor tribological properties of titanium alloys limit their applications in certain special working conditions. In order to [...] Read more.
Titanium alloys have been widely used in aerospace and other fields due to their excellent properties such as light weight and high strength. However, the extremely poor tribological properties of titanium alloys limit their applications in certain special working conditions. In order to improve the tribological properties of titanium alloys, the zirconia coatings were prepared on the surface of a TC4 titanium alloy using the discharge plasma sintering method in this article. The influence of sintering parameters on properties such as density, adhesion, hardness, and phase composition, as well as tribological properties (friction coefficient, wear rate) were investigated, and the influence mechanism of the coating structure on its mechanical and frictional properties was analyzed. The results showed that, with the increase in sintering temperature, the density, bonding strength, and hardness of the zirconia coating were significantly improved. The zirconia coating prepared at a sintering temperature of 1500 °C and a sintering time of 20 min had the lowest friction coefficient and wear rate, which are 0.33 and 6.2 × 10−8 cm3·N−1·m−1, respectively. Numerical analysis showed that the increase in temperature and the extension of time contributed to the extension of the diffusion distance between zirconia and titanium, thereby improving the interfacial adhesion. The influence mechanism of different sintering temperatures and sintering times on the wear performance of zirconia coatings was explained through Hertz contact theory. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear of Ceramics)
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12 pages, 16991 KiB  
Article
Tribological Properties of the Fast Ceramic Conversion Treated Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo Alloy with a Pre-Deposited Gold Layer
by Zhenxue Zhang, Yue Xiao, Chen Liu and Hanshan Dong
Lubricants 2024, 12(4), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants12040105 - 23 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1440
Abstract
Ceramic conversion treatment (CCT) is an effective way to modify the surface of titanium alloys. However, this process normally needs more than a 100-h treatment at 600–700 °C to form a hard and wear-resistant titanium oxide layer. In this paper, we pre-deposited a [...] Read more.
Ceramic conversion treatment (CCT) is an effective way to modify the surface of titanium alloys. However, this process normally needs more than a 100-h treatment at 600–700 °C to form a hard and wear-resistant titanium oxide layer. In this paper, we pre-deposited a thin gold layer on the surface of Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo (Ti6242) samples before CCT to investigate if Au can speed up the treatment. Treatments at 640/670/700 °C were carried out for 10 or 120 h. After CCT, the surface roughness, surface morphology, microstructure, elemental composition, and phase constituents were characterized. Surface hardness and the nano-hardness depth distribution were measured. Finally, reciprocating sliding tribological tests were carried out to study the friction and wear of the surface layers. Thin gold layers accelerated the CCT significantly with a much thicker oxide layer. The friction of the untreated Ti6242 alloy against the WC ball was unsteady and high, but it was much lower and stable for the CCTed samples pre-deposited with Au because of the formation of titanium oxides and lubrication effect of the gold particles. The wear resistance of the CCTed Ti6242 alloy samples with gold was reinforced significantly. By pre-depositing a thin gold layer on the surface of Ti6242, the treatment time can be cut significantly, and CCT becomes more efficient. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear of Ceramics)
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