Studies on abrasive wear of monolithic silicon nitride and a silicon carbide whisker-reinforced silicon nitride composite

Results presented in this paper demonstrate the roles of the most important parameters that govern abrasive wear of experimental ceramics. SEM studies of the abraded surfaces evidenced two main kinds of failures: microdropping of grain(s) and powder-type wear track(s) resulting from the brittle microfracturing of parts of grain(s). There were whiskers in the surface, and whisker pullouts occurring during wear processes are believed to be the reasons for the lower wear rates of SiCw/Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} composite ceramics under experimental conditions.