Friction and Wear Behavior of Aluminous Silicate Glass-Ceramics

The friction and wear properties of wear-resistant aluminous silicate glass-ceramics sliding against AISI-1045 steel at various loads and sliding velocities were evaluated on an MRH-5A ring-on-block friction and wear tester. The morphologies of the worn surfaces of the glass-ceramics were observed on a scanning electron microscope, while the elemental distributions on the worn surfaces were determined by means of electron microprobe analysis. As the results, the friction and wear behaviors of the glass-ceramics were greatly dependent on the applied load and sliding velocity. Namely, the wear rate of the glass-ceramics increased with increasing load up to 40 N, then it decreased significantly with further increase of the load and reached the minimum at 60 N. The glass-ceramics sliding against the steel at a relatively smaller load were characterized by mild pitting and fatigue spalling, while they were dominated by superficial plastic deformation and fatigue-induced brittle fracture at a larger normal load.