Frictional Wear Behavior of 253MA Austenitic Stainless Steel in Different Environments

The wear behavior of 253MA austenitic stainless steel under dry friction, deionized water, and 3.5% NaCl solution environments is investigated via reciprocating sliding tests (30–70 N loads). Key quantitative results reveal an inverse correlation between load and friction coefficient, with the coefficient decreasing by ≈25% as load increases from 30 to 70 N. Dry friction exhibits the highest wear rate (2.50 × 10 −3 mm 3 /N m at 30 N), dominated by adhesive and abrasive mechanisms. In 3.5% NaCl solution, wear rates are lower (0.732 × 10 −3 mm 3 /N m at 70 N) but show corrosion‐fatigue synergy due to chloride‐induced passivation layer disruption. Liquid environments reduce friction via lubrication and suppress oxidative wear, while subsurface analysis confirms thicker severe plastic deformation layers (up to 80 μm) under dry/high‐load conditions. These findings provide critical wear‐rate data and mechanistic insights for marine/industrial applications.