Self-Lubricating Effect of WC/Y–TZP–Al2O3 Hybrid Ceramic–Matrix Composites with Dispersed Hadfield Steel Particles during High-Speed Sliding against an HSS Disk

WC/Y–TZP–Al2O3 hybrid ceramic–matrix composites (CMCs) with dispersed Hadfield steel particles were sintered and then tested at sliding speeds in the range of 7–37 m/s contact pressure 5 MPa. Fast low-temperature sinter-forging allowed obtaining micron-sized WC grains, submicron-sized alumina-reinforced yttria partially stabilized polycrystalline tetragonal zirconia (Y–TZP–Al2O3), evenly distributed grains. Such a microstructure provided new characteristics combining high hardness fracture toughness tribological adaptation. The CMCs demonstrated low friction wear resistance that better than those by other composite materials such as, for example, MAX-phase composites, zirconia-base ceramics, ZrB2-SiC metal matrix WC–(Fe–Mn–C) composites. These good obtained due to situ mechanochemical formation iron tungstates FeWO4 Fe2WO6 on worn surfaces samples. mixed oxides included multilayer subsurface structures self-lubricating self-healing effects high-speed because their easy shear quasi-viscous behavior.