Paper Title
FRICTION AND WEAR CHARACTERIZATION OF Si3N4 – SiC NANOCOMPOSITE CERAMIC

Abstract
Abstract - Friction and wear behaviors of silicon nitride ceramics reinforced by silicon carbide were studied. The nano-composite materials were prepared via spark plasma sintering. Tribological tests were made against silicon carbide balls under dry conditions by means of reciprocating ball-on-flat tribometer. Experimental results have shown that tribological behaviors depend on normal load and sliding velocity.Specific wear rate decreases as the frequency increase. The lower friction coefficient is noted for 17N as normal load and 1 Hz frequency which is equal to 0.42 while the highest is noted at 0.25 Hz and equal to 0.92 at 33 N as normal load. Keywords - Silicon Nitride Nanocomposites, Silicon Carbide, Friction, Wear.