High temperature tribological properties of Ti3AlC2 ceramic against SiC under different atmospheres

In this paper, the dry-sliding tests of Ti3AlC2/SiC tribopairs were conducted from 25 °C to 1000 °C in both air and argon atmospheres for confirming the roles of tribo-oxidation and laminate structure of Ti3AlC2. The characteristics of the worn surfaces of the Ti3AlC2 were contrastively examined and the corresponding tribological mechanisms were discussed. Ti3AlC2 showed distinctive tribological behaviors and mechanisms in the two atmospheres. Here, the tribo-oxidation film played a very vital role for the tribology of Ti3AlC2. In air, Ti3AlC2 showed moderate wear at 25-400 °C and Ti3O5 was the major phase of the tribofilms. At 600-1000 °C, the wear-resistant tribo-oxidation films, consisting of TiO2 and Al2O3, were believed to be responsible for the negligible wear. In argon, Ti3AlC2 exhibited heavy wear in the whole temperature range. Abrasive and adhesive wear caused the poor tribological performances at 800 °C and below. At 1000 °C, Ti3AlC2 displayed plastic flowing and large furrows under the shear stress.