Wear Behaviour of Al2O3 - Mo Composites

The wear behaviour of pure Al2O3 was compared with that of two Al2O3-Mo particulate composites with different Mo contents. The pin-on-disk tests were performed by making the ceramic pins slide against WC disks at different loads with a constant sliding speed. It was found that the friction coefficient strongly depends on the applied load but weakly on the pin material. In the case of pure Al2O3, the mass loss of the pins and mated disks remained almost constant in the investigated range of applied loads. In the case of Mo­ composites, at low applied loads, the mass loss of the pins and mated disks was nearly the same of the pure Al2O3, but at the highest applied load, a remarkable increase of mass loss of both pins and disks was found.