Effects of Interface Boundary Strength on Wear and Wear Transition during Sliding in Silicon Carbide Ceramics

탄화규소계 세라믹스에서 미끄럼시의 마모 및 마모천이에 미치는 계면강도의 영향

The effects of interface boundary strength on wear and wear transition during sliding have been investigated in silicon carbide ceramics. Three different microstructures, i.e., solid state sintered silicon carbide, liquid phase sintered silicon carbide and liquid phase sintered silicon carbide composite reinforced with TiB$_{2}$ particulates, were designed by hot pressing. Examinations of crack patterns and fracture modes indicated that interface boundaries were relatively strong between silicon carbide grains in the solid state sintered silicon carbide, intermediate in the liquid phase sintered silicon carbide and weak between silicon carbide grains and TiB$_{2}$ particles in the composite. Wear data and examinations of worn surfaces revealed that the wear behavior of these silicon carbide ceramics could be significantly affected by the interface strength. In the solid state sintered silicon carbide, the wear occurred by a grooving process. In the liquid phase sintered silicon carbide and composite, on the other hand, an abrupt transition in wear mechanism from initial grooving to grain pull-out process occurred during the test. The transition occurred significantly earlier in the composite than in the carbide.