Self-Repairing Characteristics of Serpentine Mineral Powder as an Additive on Steel–Chromium Plating Pair under High Temperature

Abstract

Friction and wear experiments on steel–chromium plating pairs were carried out with nanoscale serpentine (a magnesium silicate mineral) as a lubricating oil additive at 400°C. The tribological test results showed that self-repairing protective layers formed on the contact surfaces of both the steel matrix and hard chromium coating. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis demonstrated that the morphology and elements of self-repairing layers were in accordance with that of serpentine. A generation mechanism of the layer was proposed that suggests that isomorphic replacement between Fe/Cr and serpentine mineral silicate occurs, which is the wear mechanism of the tribochemical reaction.

KEY WORDS:

• Antiwear Additive
• XPS
• Wear Resistant
• Wear Mechanisms

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50475079) and the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (E2007000359). This article was based on work supported by the Key Laboratory of Fundamental Science of Mechanical Structure and Material Science under Extreme Condition for National Defense and State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology of Yan Shan University.

Review led by Gary Barber