Abstract

To meet the increasingly stringent application requirements of water-lubrication technology across multiple fields, this study focuses on WB4-(3B ceramic materials, systematically investigating their tribological behaviors when paired with different counter materials under water-lubricated environments. Tribological characterizations reveal that water-lubrication significantly decreases the coefficient of friction (CoF) of all friction pairs, with a maximum reduction of 73%. Among them, the WB4-(3B/WC friction pair exhibits the minimum CoF of 0.19 and a wear rate (WR) of 10-7mm3 N-1 m-1 order under water-lubrication. The wear mechanisms under different working conditions were studied by analyzing the worn surface structure, elemental distribution, and lubricating film formation mechanism. Compared with the locally discrete oxide films formed by tribo-oxidation on the WB4-(3B matrix surface under dry friction conditions, water-lubrication not only efficiently removes wear debris through fluid effects but also promotes oxides to form continuous colloidal lubricating films via hydration. These films synergize with liquid lubrication to ultimately achieve efficient friction reduction.

Keywords Plus: TUNGSTEN TETRABORIDE，FRICTION

Published in TRIBOLOGY INTERNATIONAL，Volume224；10.1016/j.triboint.2026.112307，DEC 2026