Tribological behavior of Fe₃Al-60 wt.% Fe₃ALC_0.5 composite under air and vacuum conditions

The tribological behavior of Fe₃Al composite with 60 wt.%Fe3AlC_0.5 under air and vacuum was studied. The compositeexhibited a lower wear rate but somewhat higher frictioncoefficient under air than vacuum. The wear rates increasedand the friction coefficients decreased with increasing theapplied load under both conditions. The sub-layer of theworn surface under vacuum suffered from severe plasticdeformation. This was not the case under air due to protection by surface oxide films. The dominant wear mechanismswere plastic deformation and adhesion under vacuum and oxidative wear and slight delamination under air.&COPY Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Co. KG.