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The tribological behaviors of Si3N4–hBN composites sliding against austenitic stainless steel at different relative humidities (RH25∼35%, RH55∼65%, and RH90% or higher) were investigated by using an MMW-1 type vertical universal tribometer. The morphological and chemical characterizations of the worn surfaces of the specimens were conducted by using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, laser scanning microscope, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that the friction coefficients of Si3N4–10%hBN/ASS sliding pairs were lowered to about 0.03 under the relative humidity of RH55∼65%. This was mainly attributed to the formation of a surface film (consisting of B2O3, SiO2, and Fe2O3) on the wear surface of the SN10/ASS pairs. The surface film lubricated and protected the wear surfaces of pin and disc. Under the relative humidity of RH25∼35%, the formation of the surface film was limited because of less water molecules. Under the relative humidity of RH90% or higher, a part of the water molecules in the air can easily deposit on the wear surfaces, so that the microcracks on the wear surfaces would be promoted to expand, resulting in the inability to form a continuous and stable surface film. Besides, for Si3N4/austenitic stainless steel pair, no tribofilm was formed on the surfaces, and higher friction coefficient and wear rate were obtained. When hBN content increased to 20% or higher, rough wear surface was covered by the wear debris layer mainly due to their poor physical and mechanical properties.

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In order to understand the influence of underground coal fires on coal fractures and pores, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are combined to study the development of coal pore and fracture under high-temperature treatment and calculate the fractal dimension to analyze the relationship between the development of coal pore and fracture and the fractal dimension. The results show that the volume of pores and fractures of the coal sample (C200) treated at 200 °C (0.1715 mL/g) is greater than that of the coal sample (C400) treated at 400 °C (0.1209 mL/g), and both are greater than the original coal sample (RC) (0.1135 mL/g). The volume increase is mainly due to mesopores and macropores, and the proportions of mesopores and macropores in C200 were 70.15 and 59.97% in C400. The MIP fractal dimension shows a decreasing trend with the increase of temperature, and the connectivity of coal samples improved with the increase of temperature. The changes in volume and three-dimensional fractal dimension of C200 and C400 showed the opposite trend and are related to the different stress of coal matrix at different temperatures. The experimental SEM images confirm that the connectivity of coal fractures and pores improves with the increase of temperature. Based on the SEM experiment, the larger the fractal dimension, the more complex the surface is. The SEM surface fractal dimensions indicate that the surface fractal dimension of C200 is the smallest and that of C400 is the largest, which is consistent with the observations made by SEM. The combination of the two fractal dimensions is used to characterize the self-similarity of coal using the fractal dimension difference. When the temperature increased to 200 °C, the unordered expansion of the coal sample resulted in the largest fractal dimension difference and the lowest self-similarity. When heated to 400 °C, the fractal dimension difference of the coal sample is the smallest, and the microstructure of coal shows a regular groove-like development.