Sliding Wear Behavior of Plasma Sprayed Zirconia Coatingagainst Silicon Carbide Ceramic Ball

The sliding wear behavior of $ZrO_2-22wt\%MgO\;(MZ)\;and\;ZrO_2-8wt\%Y_2O_3\;(YZ)$ deposited on a casting aluminum alloy with bond layer (NiCrCoAlY) by plasma spray against an SiC ball was investigated under dry test conditions at room temperature. At all load conditions, the wear mechanisms of the MZ and the YZ coatings were almost the same. The wear mechanisms involved the forming of a smooth film by material transferred on the sliding surface and pullout. The wear rate of the MZ coating was less than that of the YZ coating. With an increase normal load the wear rate of the studied coatings increased. The SEM was used to examine the sliding surfaces and elucidate likely wear mechanisms. The EDX analysis of the worn surface indicated that material transfer was occurred from the SiC ball to the disk. It was suggested that the material transfer played an important role in the wear performance.