Friction wear behaviors of 316L stainless steel/Y-PSZ composites

The friction wear behaviors of 316L stainless steel/Y-PSZ (partially yttria-stabilized zirconia) metal-ceramics compos-ites fabricated by means of powder metallurgy were evaluated under dry-sliding condition on a high-speed block-on-ring contact wear test machine MRH-3, and were contrasted to those of T10 steel (HRC 45). The effects of the volume fraction (30% -50%) and particle size (10.8-51.6μm) of 316L and the rotary speed (200-280 r·min^-1) of the friction ring on the wear resistance of 316L/Y-PSZ composites were investigated. The results show that the wear resistance of the composites decrease with the increase of 316L content and particle size, or with the increase of the rotary speed of the friction ring. The wear resistance of fabricated 316L/Y-PSZ composites is better than that of T10 steel under the experimental conditions in this work except for few cases. Furthermore, the wear resistance of the fabricated 316L/Y-PSZ composites with a 316L volume fraction of 30% and a 316L particle size 10.8μm is 3.0-3.2 times as large as that of T10 steel under the experimental conditions in this work. The abrasion mechanism of 316L/Y-PSZ composites is mainly composed of the desquamation of 316L particles and the delamination of Y-PSZ matrix.