Effect of ceramic surface texture on the tribological property of ceramics and carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide ceramic matrix composite (C/SiC)

Three processing methods including grinding, polishing, laser engraving were used on ZrO2 and Si3N4 surfaces. Two types of surface textures were obtained including micro dimples and micro grooves through the laser engraving. Therefore, the friction experiments of the eight surfaces mated with C/SiC were conducted under a dry condition at ambient temperature. The results indicated that surface texture does not necessarily have a positive effect on the tribological properties which are largely influenced by the countrpart materials and the texture type. Ground ZrO2-C/SiC and Si3N4 with micro dimples-C/SiC have a better tribological property, and the former shows the best performance during the tests. The formation and the falling off of wear debris are accompanied with the whole friction process while C/SiC rubbing against Si3N4 disc with micro dimples thus resulting in a worse result.