Abstract: With the help of an in-situ pin-disk sliding wear apparatus in scanning election microscopes (SEM), the friction and wear properties of the Al₂O₃-TiC-TiN
advanced composite ceramic under single abrasive were studied. The results show that the friction behaviors of Al₂O₃-TiC-TiN have different characteristics
in vacuum and air. At first the dominant wear mechanism is the microcutting and with the wear proceeding the brittle fracture becomes more and more important. The
experiments also indicate that the relative hardness of the abrasive has a great effect on the wear rate of this material under three-body abrasion conditions.

Key words: Al₂O₃-TiC-TiN ceramic, single abrasive, friction coefficient,wear mechanis