Friction and wear of AISI 304 by the SiC ball and its monitoring via Barkhausen noise emission

This study deals with the friction and wear of AISI 304 austenitic steel by the SiC ball. The surface state in the affected region was investigated as a function of the time duration of the friction process due to a single ceramic spherical SiC ball tip in a reversible linear motion under a load of 10 N (ball-on-flat test method). Only minor alterations in the loaded region could be found in the initial phase of friction, which was followed by an abrupt increase in the size of the wear track produced. Wear tracks were investigated in terms of their size, residual stress state, phase composition, delamination, and chemistry. Due to the phase transformation from austenite to martensite, the magnetic Barkhausen noise technique was also employed, and its sensitivity to alterations arising during friction and wear was investigated. It was found that magnetic Barkhausen noise was sensitive to the volume fraction of strain-induced martensite. Moreover, pronounced surface oxidation could be detected in the region of surface delamination, in contrast to the initial phase of friction. •Delamination after ploughing is linked with accelerated martensite transformation.•Surface oxidation of austenitic steel takes place during delamination phase.•Barkhausen noise is sensitive to the fraction of strain induced martensite.