M. Vardavoulias et al., DRY SLIDING WEAR MECHANISM FOR P M AUSTENITIC STAINLESS-STEELS AND THEIR COMPOSITES CONTAINING AL2O3 AND Y2O3 PARTICLES/, Tribology international, 29(6), 1996, pp. 499-506
Austenitic stainless steels are used in applications demanding general
corrosion resistance at room or moderate operating temperatures. Howe
ver, their use is often limited by the relative softness of these mate
rials and their suceptibility to wear and galling. The present investi
gation deals with the dry sliding wear behaviour of two P/M austenitic
stainless steels (AISI 304L and 316L) and their composites containing
two different ceramic particles (Al2O3 and Y2O3) and two different si
ntering activators (BN and B2Cr). Unlubricated pin-on-disc wear tests
were carried out. Wear mechanisms were analysed by means of scanning e
lectron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. A plastic deformation and pa
rticle detachment wear mechanism was revealed. Plasticity during slidi
ng induced an austenite to martensite transformation. The presence of
ceramic particles (Al2O3 and Y2O3) and sintering activators (B2Cr, BN)
improved significantly the wear resistance (especially the combinatio
n Al2O3 and B2Cr). Ceramic particles limited plastic deformation while
sintering activators decreased final porosity. Copyright (C) 1996 Els
evier Science Ltd