On the Tribological Behavior and Surface Analysis of a Sliding PSZ Ceramic-Steel Pair

Abstract

Using a ring-on-block wear test machine, friction and wear tests were carried out on a PSZ (partially stabilized zirconia) ceramic-steel pair under the lubrication conditions of paraffin oil and paraffin oil with 0.5 percent ZDDP additive. Surface analysis techniques of XPS and AES were used to analyze the rubbing surfaces. The test results showed that the PSZ ceramic-steel pair possesses very good tribological behavior. The wear resistance of the pair was increased when ZDDP was added to the paraffin oil lubricant. Surface analysis showed that the increased wear resistance could be attributed to the formation of a surface reaction film containing the elements Zn, P, and S on the rubbing surfaces.