Dependence of Tribotechnical Characteristics on Mechanical Properties and Phase Transformations of Zirconia Composite Ceramics

The influence of silica addition (in the range of SiO₂ concentrations from 0 to 6 mol. %) in aluminatoughened zirconia (stabilized in tetragonal phase by calcium oxide) on its friction coefficient and wear rate has been studied. It is found that with elevation of SiO₂ concentration, both characteristics experience nonmonotonic changes with an overall increasing trend. The dependences comparative analysis of mechanical properties (microhardness, fracture toughness and brittleness index), tetragonal phase t-ZrO₂ transformability and wear rate on SiO₂ concentration in the investigated composite ceramics has been carried out. It is shown that the non-monotonic character of wear rate dependence on SiO₂ concentration is due to the competitive influence of changes in microhardness, fracture toughness and t-ZrO₂ transformability caused by the silica addition into ceramics. A proposal has been made on the feasibility of manufacturing silicon-containing ceramics (possessing increased values of fracture toughness and compressive strength, as well as plasticity reserve at room temperatures) with a near-surface SiO₂-free layer retaining the preferred values of microhardness, friction coefficient and wear rate.

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