Friction and wear characteristics of silicon nitride ceramics under dry friction condition

Abstract In order to reveal the friction properties and improve the wear resistance of silicon nitride ceramic materials, a calculation model of static friction coefficient of silicon nitride ceramic is established. The influence law of contact surface roughness on friction coefficient under different contact load and friction speed is analyzed. The test and the results verification are carried out by using Friction Wear Testing Machine. Then the dry friction process of silicon nitride ceramic is simulated based on UDEC, and the wear failure form is analyzed. In the dry friction process of silicon nitride ceramics, the coefficient of friction is directly proportional to the contact surface roughness, inversely proportional to the contact load, and directly proportional to the friction speed. There is a critical value for the roughness of friction sub-contact surface. Silicon nitride ceramics can self-lubricate by friction when the contact surface roughness is less than this critical value. In the dry friction process, the oxidation of SiO2 has little effect on the friction. The wear surface of silicon nitride ceramics consists of shear failure units and tensile failure units, and their formation is related to the surface roughness. The results play an important role in revealing the frictional properties of engineering ceramics such as silicon nitride, as well as helpful to improve the wear resistance and service life of ceramic materials.