Ceramics are used in a wide range of applications, both in lubricated and unlubricated contacts. Due to their hardness and high wear resistance to extensive usage, ceramics are used in many applications. In all cases, they must have excellent tribological characteristics. Silicon carbide composite ceramics were sintered, and friction and wear characteristics were evaluated at various specimen conditions. The SiC ceramics mainly had abrasive, adhesive and plowing wear during the dry sliding. All the specimens decreased concerning their friction coefficient and wear loss with increasing heat treatment temperature. The friction of heat treated as-received specimens at high temperature was more reduced than that of heat treated as-received specimens. The higher the heat treatment temperature and the longer the time, the thicker the SiO2 oxide that was formed on the surface. In addition, the friction coefficient was smaller due to the lubrication action, but the wear loss was larger.

Keywords: SiC ceramics, Friction coefficient, Wear loss, SiO2 oxide, Debris