High temperature tribological properties of Ti3AlC2 ceramic against SiC under different atmospheres.

In this paper, the dry-sliding tests of Ti 3 AlC 2 /SiC tribopairs were conducted from 25 °C to 1000 °C in both air and argon atmospheres for confirming the roles of tribo-oxidation and laminate structure of Ti 3 AlC 2 . The characteristics of the worn surfaces of the Ti 3 AlC 2 were contrastively examined and the corresponding tribological mechanisms were discussed. Ti 3 AlC 2 showed distinctive tribological behaviors and mechanisms in the two atmospheres. Here, the tribo-oxidation film played a very vital role for the tribology of Ti 3 AlC 2 . In air, Ti 3 AlC 2 showed moderate wear at 25–400 °C and Ti 3 O 5 was the major phase of the tribofilms. At 600–1000 °C, the wear-resistant tribo-oxidation films, consisting of TiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 , were believed to be responsible for the negligible wear. In argon, Ti 3 AlC 2 exhibited heavy wear in the whole temperature range. Abrasive and adhesive wear caused the poor tribological performances at 800 °C and below. At 1000 °C, Ti 3 AlC 2 displayed plastic flowing and large furrows under the shear stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]