FRICTION AND WEAR BEHAVIOR OF THORDON-XL AND LGSN80 IN SLIDING AGAINST PLASMA-SPRAYED CR2O3 COATINGS

This paper studies the friction and wear behaviour of two important be aring materials, Thordon XL and LgSn80, in dry and lubricated sliding vs. plasma-sprayed Cr2O3 coatings. As a reference, AISI 1043 steel is also studied under the same conditions. SEM, EDS and surface topograph y were employed to study the wear mechanisms. The results indicate tha t the Thordon XL/Cr2O3 coating pair gives the lowest dry friction coef ficient (0.16) under a normal load of 45.3 N (pressure 0.453 MPa) at a velocity of 1 m/s. The dry friction coefficient of Thordon XL/Cr2O3 c oating increases to 0.38 under a normal load of 88.5 N (pressure 0.885 MPa). The dry friction coefficients of the LgSn80/Cr2O3 coating are i n the range of 0.31-0.46. Secondly, both dry wear rate under low norma l load (45.3 N) and lubricated wear rate under a load of 680 N for Tho rdon XL are lower than those of LgSn80 in sliding against plasma-spray ed Cr2O3 coatings at a speed of 1 m/s. However, under a normal load of 88.5 N the dry wear rate of Thordon XL is much higher than that of Lg Sn80. Thirdly, a high viscosity lubricant (SAE 140) leads to lower wea r for Thordon XL and LgSn80 than a low viscosity lubricant (SAE 30). F inally, the dominating wear mechanism for Thordon XL is shear fracture when against the plasma-sprayed Cr2O3 ceramic coating. For LgSn80 aga inst plasma-sprayed Cr2O3 ceramic coating, abrasive wear is the govern ing failure mechanism. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd