| High hardness, fracture toughness, modulus of rupture and fine grain size are material properties that are desired for components employed in aggressive wear environments. Since aluminum oxide offers such properties, this type of material is often selected for applications that demand wear resistance. Aluminum oxide materials commercially produced at Superior Technical Ceramics were investigated to find a correlation between their mechanical properties and wear resistant performance. A pin-on-disc apparatus and a tumbling test were employed to determine the relative difference in wear between different alumina compositions. The selected 88%, 96%, 98% purple, 98% alumina and zirconia toughened alumina were subjected to four different wear tests in order to determine their wear behavior in each system. The objective was to characterize the compositions according to their mechanical properties and to establish a wear material selection guide for Superior Technical Ceramics. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
