Effect of abrasive grit size on wear of manganese-zinc ferrite under three-body abrasion

Abstract

Wear experiments were conducted using replication electron microscopy and reflection electron diffraction to study abrasion and deformed layers produced in single-crystal Mn-Zn ferrites under three-body abrasion. The abrasion mechanism of Mn-Zn ferrite changes drastically with the size of abrasive grits. With 15-micron (1000-mesh) SiC grits, abrasion of Mn-Zn ferrite is due principally to brittle fracture; while with 4- and 2-micron (4000- and 6000-mesh) SiC grits, abrasion is due to plastic deformation and fracture. Both microcracking and plastic flow produce polycrystalline states on the wear surfaces of single-crystal Mn-Zn ferrites. Coefficient of wear, total thickness of the deformed layers, and surface roughness of the wear surfaces increase markedly with an increase in abrasive grit size. The total thicknesses of the deformed layers are 3 microns for the ferrite abraded by 15-micron SiC, 0.9 microns for the ferrite abraded by 4-micron SiC, and 0.8 microns for the ferrite abraded by 1-micron SiC