Friction and wear performances of Si₃N₄ ceramic matrix composites: A review from the perspectives of doped phase, layered structure design, and laser surface texturing

Si3N4 ceramic matrix composites (SN-CMCs) have been designed and widely used in many engineering fields under externally loading conditions. It is well known that the wear of materials is closely related to components' mechanical reliability and service life. Understanding of the friction and wear performances is very important to provide insights into how to improve the wear resistance of materials. Coefficient of friction and wear rate, in general, are the most critical parameters of tribological behavior of materials. In this paper, friction and wear performances of SN-CMCs are reviewed from the perspectives of doped phase, layered structure design, and laser surface texturing. The article describes the change of friction and wear performances of SN-CMCs sintered with different additive phases. Tribological behavior of SN-CMCs with engineering designed layered structure is also analyzed from the aspects of surface coating and gradient structure. In addition, friction and wear performances of SN-CMCs under different lubrication conditions are also discussed. As an ideal processing method for hard and brittle ceramic materials, laser surface texturing has been proved to be an effective way to improve the wear resistance of SN-CMCs. Researches have shown that the better wear resistance can be obtained by combining laser surface texture with layered structure. At the end of paper, studies on friction and wear performances of SN-CMCs are summarized and prospected.