Friction and wear behavior of diamond film with adjustable grain size against silicon carbide in different tribological tests

• Published in: Diamond and related materials Vol. 129; p. 109377
• Main Authors: Chen, Yuanhao, Gou, Li
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.11.2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Abrasion; Axial forces; Diamond film; Diamond films; Efficiency; Fine grinding; Friction; Gas pressure; Grain size; Grinding; Roughness; Silicon carbide; Tribology; Wear; Wear mechanisms; Wear rate; Grain size; Silicon carbide; Diamond film; Friction; Wear
• ISSN: 0925-9635; 1879-0062
• DOI: 10.1016/j.diamond.2022.109377

Efficient processing of silicon carbide (SiC) is still challenging due to its high hardness. Microcrystalline diamond (MCD) and nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films were deposited on SiC ceramics by controlling methane concentration and gas pressure. Two different tribological tests were executed on rotating ball-on-plates and linear reciprocating tribometers. The morphology and the elemental composition of abrasion marks and ball surface were evaluated to determine the main wear mechanism. We found that the MCD film had high grinding efficiency, leading to the roughness Ra of 68 nm on the surface of the SiC ceramic ball, while NCD film obtained the lower roughness although there was a lower grinding efficiency. Both diamond films had no damage, but a layer of SiC debris was covered on the NCD. The efficiency of MCD was 20 times that of NCD in terms of wear rate. The grinding efficiency of the reciprocating friction test was only half that of the rotary test due to the unidirectional axial force. Diamond films with different grain sizes are expected for different applications for SiC processing, such as thinning, coarse grinding, and fine grinding. [Display omitted] •Diamond films are expected to be reused many times to keep the surface quality of SiC and reduce the cost of processing.•The grinding efficiency of microcrystalline diamond was 20 times that of nanocrystalline diamond film in the rotating test.•The nanocrystalline diamond film caused minor surface damage of SiC with the Ra of 17 nm.