Ceramics structural features of the friction surface of ZrO2-Y2O3 ceramics after high-speed sliding on steel

In this work, we studied the structural features of the friction surface of partially stabilized yttrium oxide zirconia ceramics after high-speed sliding on steel. It was shown that two processes occur simultaneously in the surface layers of ceramics: the formation of a thin fragmented surface layer and the formation of the structure of a subsurface textured layer due to the effect of ferroelasticity, which serves as a strengthened substrate. The thin surface layer contains γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles and ZrO2 nanoparticles in the tetragonal and cubic phases.