Tribological properties of boron carbide in sliding against WC ball

Microstructure, Thermo-Physical, Mechanical and Wear Properties of in-Situ Formed Boron Carbide - Zirconium Diboride Composite

“…Such characteristic features can be attributed to the presence of a third body (wear debris) under sliding motion. Minimal fluctuations were observed at a higher normal load of 20 N. From the above observations, it was found that the COF is a strong function of load, when sliding against cemented WC-Co. An average dynamic COF was calculated at all the loads and is presented in Table 5 and compared with values reported in the literature [25,26]. The dynamic COF values are measured as 0.24 at 5 N load and 0.15 at 10 and 20 N loads.…”

“…The effect of the normal load on friction response is summarized in Figure 10. COF data of monolithic boron carbide were reported to be 0.15 [25] and 0.59 [26] at 10 N load. The COF of B 4 C-5 wt.…”

“…Tribology studies on monolithic boron carbide, B 4 C-BN (hexagonal) composites and SiC-B 4 C-Si cermets have been reported in the literature [25][26][27]. The coefficient of friction of boron carbide has been reported as low as 0.03, but some reports recorded values up to 0.9 [25][26][27], depending on the load, surface chemical composition, counter body material and humidity.…”

“…The coefficient of friction of boron carbide has been reported as low as 0.03, but some reports recorded values up to 0.9 [25][26][27], depending on the load, surface chemical composition, counter body material and humidity. During tribological tests, B 4 C undergoes oxidation, which results in the formation of B 2 O 3 , which further converts to a boric acid (H 3 BO 3 ) film in the presence of sufficient humidity [25,[28][29][30][31]. Boric acid based films reduce the friction by forming a smooth friction surface at the interface, acting as lubricants due to their layered structure [28].…”

“…Refractory metal borides, carbides and their composites are natural candidates for these tribological applications due to their exceptional hardness, elastic modulus and thermal stability at elevated temperatures [32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. Among these, boron carbide is one of the potential materials for wear resistant applications [25]. However, difficulties in consolidation, poor fracture toughness and moderate oxidation resistance restrict the widespread use of B 4 C [1,3].…”