Effect of rare-earth species on the wear properties of α sialon and β silicon nitride ceramics under tribochemical type conditions

The wear properties under low loads of β Si3N4 and α sialon materials sintered with different rare-earth oxide sintering additives have been studied under dry sliding conditions using block-on-ring wear tests. All the worn surfaces showed an absence of fracture and smooth surfaces with the presence of an oxygen-rich filmlike debris indicating tribochemically induced oxidation of the surfaces. Extensive grain boundary removal was observed on the worn surfaces thought to be due to adhesion between this silicate phase and the tribochemically oxidized surfaces. The resistance to such oxidation and the properties of the residual grain boundary phase are thought to be important parameters affecting the wear behavior under the present testing conditions. For both the β Si3N4 and α sialon materials, there was an increase in wear resistance with decreasing cationic radius of the rare earth, thought to be due to improved oxidation resistance, and this was more remarkable in the case of the sialon materials where the incorporation of the sintering additives into the Si3N4 structure results in a lower amount of residual boundary phase.