Study on tribological properties of ceramics/stainless steel rubbing pairs in hydrogen peroxide solutions

Rubbing pairs of ceramics and stainless steel are widely used under the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) strong oxidizing environment. It is crucial to study the wear behavior and failure modes of the rubbing pairs. The tribological properties of three types of ceramics (ZrO2, Al2O3, Si3N4 ceramics) and 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel rubbing pairs were investigated using a tribo-tester under different concentrations of H2O2 solution. The comparative analysis of the friction coefficients, wear volumes, worn surface topographies and corrosion potentials was conducted under different concentrations of H2O2 solutions. There were significant differences in the tribological and electrochemical properties of the rubbing pairs in different H2O2 solutions. As a whole, the rubbing pairs of Si3N4 ceramics/1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel have the best tribological properties in H2O2 solutions. It is believed that the knowledge obtained in this study will provide a guide for the selection of the rubbing pairs in the H2O2 solutions. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.