Ceramic triboelements are increasingly being used to solve tribological problems under severe service conditions. The performance varies significantly, depending strongly on operating conditions and on material, and is currently not clearly predictable from first principles. This study will attempt to remedy this problem and develop a quantitative relationship between wear behavior, operating conditions, and material properties and microstructure. The wear mechanisms and wear performance of a number of ceramic materials under dry sliding conditions will be determined by wear measurements and high-resolution microscopy of the worn surface and the subsurface material. The wear behavior will be correlated with commonly measured micro-mechanical properties, such as micro-hardness and indentation fracture toughness, and with microstructure.
