Effect of mating surface on the high temperature wear of 253 MA alloy

The wear behaviour of metallic material is influenced by the friction force, which in turn, is governed by the hardness and oxidation kinetics of the mating surface. In view of this, present investigation is undertaken to find the influence of mating surface on the high temperature wear of 253 MA alloy. This alloy is developed for high temperature application. In this work 253 MA alloy is made to slide against two different types of counter face material, namely 100Cr6 steel and PM 1000 alloy, at five different temperatures. 100Cr6 steel gets soften with increase of temperature whereas PM 1000 alloy retains its strength even at high temperature. The friction coefficient and the thickness loss of 253 MA alloy is measured and compared against both variety of mating surfaces as function of temperatures. The morphology of the worn surfaces and the transverse section of the worn surfaces are examined under scanning electron microscope (SEM) to identify the material removal mechanisms. The results showed that the friction coefficient of test material against PM 1000 alloy is around 40% higher than the friction coefficient against 100Cr6 steel. The transverse section of the worn surface showed presence of a transfer layer, mechanically mixed layer and composite layer, which govern the wear behaviour particularly at elevated temperature. The chemical characteristics of these layers are dependent on the test temperature and the counter face material.