Friction and Wear Behaviors of N31 Phosphate Laser Glass

Using a Rtec-MFT3000 universal tribometer, the friction and wear behaviors of N31 phosphate laser glass against silicate glass ball were investigated in the load range of 0.2 to 2 N, and the influences of load on the friction and wear behaviors were discussed emphatically. Experimental results indicate that increasing load decreased the friction coefficient in stable stage. A shorter running-in time was observed under a higher load. The wear volume of N31 phosphate laser glass first increased sharply and then slowly with increase in load. The wear mechanism transition from abrasive wear to the combined action of abrasive wear and crack initiation, and finally to material brittle exfoliation was observed by increasing the load. However, the wear volume of silicate glass ball increased linearly with increasing load and the wear mechanism was abrasive wear. The tribochemical reaction is not obvious in the wear tracks detected by EDS in phosphate laser glass and the wear debris was the mixture of the materials from the tribo-pair.