T
he wear be
haviour of a fine grained and dense CaZ
rO3-MgO composite is presented. Un-lubricated Pin-on-disc tests at
room temperature
have been performed using 10 N as normal force and 0.10&ndas
h;0.15 ms
-1 as sliding rate and ZrO
2 and steel counterparts. T
he coefficient of friction versus t
he sliding distance and t
he specific wear, toget
her wit
h a complete mic
rostructural analysis of t
he worn surfaces by field emission scanning elect
ron mic
roscopy is reported. T
he composite presents a wear resistance similar to ot
her ceramics under ceramic/ceramic sliding contact and imp
roved wear resistance in contact wit
h steel.
Initial wear is dominated by abrasion independently of the chemical nature of the counterpart. The second stage wear depends on the characteristics of the third body formed. Zirconia leads to a brittle particulate third body with little protective capability. Steel forms a strongly bonded and plastic cermet third body that protects the material limiting the level of further wear.