Tribofilm formation of lightly loaded self mated alumina contacts

A tribofilm is formed on alumina surfaces that have been slid against alumina surfaces. The tribofilm is formed by alumina wear particles that have been ground, agglomerated and tribosintered to a film. The tribofilm smoothens out the surface topography and fills up cavities. Tribofilms on alumina surfaces have been investigated with respect to surface appearance, hardness and chemical composition. Surface preparation and surrounding humidity have shown to affect the character and lateral distribution of the tribofilm. The tribofilm that was formed in humid air was softer than the tribofilm formed in dry air. XPS analysis revealed the chemical shift of the Al 2p peak did not differ between the tribofilms that was formed in different humidity, nor the unworn reference surface, finding that no hydroxide was found on the alumina surfaces. Also, no tribochemical changes could be detected by ToF-SIMS analysis.