Wear behavior of conventional and spark plasma sintered Al ₂ O ₃ ‐NbC nanocomposites

Abstract This study aims to investigate the dry sliding wear behavior of Al ₂ O ₃ ‐5vol.% NbC nanocomposites sintered by two different consolidation techniques: conventional sintering ( CS ) and spark plasma sintering ( SPS ) at temperatures ranging from 1450 to 1600°C. The dry sliding wear tests were performed on a tribometer with a ball‐on‐disc configuration using an Al ₂ O ₃ ball as a counterpart material, with a normal contact load of 15 and 30 N, a sliding distance of 2000 m and a sliding speed of 0.1 m/s at room temperature and ambient environment. The sintering methods, mechanical properties and applied load acted directly on the wear mechanism of the nanocomposites. The samples sintered by SPS exhibited higher densification and hardness, in addition to a lower friction coefficient and wear rate. Based on the wear rate, these nanocomposites exhibited a moderate regime with 15 N of load, and several regimes when 30 N of applied load was used. The main wear mechanisms observed were plastic deformation, abrasion and grain pull‐out. The excellent results show that Al ₂ O ₃ ‐NbC nanocomposites are ideal for the manufacture of new products such as cutting tools.