Tribological properties of NiCr–ZrO2(Y2O3)–SrSO4 composites at elevated temperatures

The effect of SrSO4 content on the tribological properties of NiCr–30wt%ZrO2(Y2O3) (NC30Z) cermet was evaluated over a wide temperature range from room temperature to 1000 °C. The results indicated that the inclusion of SrSO4 effectively improved the friction coefficients and wear rates of NC30Z cermet above 400 °C. NC30Z–5SrSO4 composite against alumina ball exhibited satisfactory tribological performance, which was attributed to synergistic lubrication of pseudocubic-SrZrO3 and NiCr2O4 between 400 °C and 800 °C and cubic-SrZrO3, NiCr2O4, NiO and Cr2O3 at 1000 °C.