On the influence of some test parameters on the results of oscillating sliding tests

The friction and wear behaviour of materials is often characterised in laboratory tests using a simple ball-on-flat configuration. From this type of test can be derived information useful in guiding the development of tribomaterials and in helping select candidate materials for specific applications. A large variety of tribotesting methods exists, and indeed several are not yet standardised. One of these methods is the oscillating sliding test, where a ball moves in relation to a disc, usually with small strokes. This method is almost non-destructive and can be applied to very small specimens. One of the most important parameters in laboratory tests is the humidity of the surrounding air. Experimental results on the friction and wear characteristics of different ceramics tested against different ball materials at room temperature in oscillating sliding contact are presented here and discussed, taking into account the effects of the test duration, relative humidity, and counterbody material.     

The Sliding Friction of Hybrid Composite Journal Bearing Under Various Test Conditions

The friction and wear behaviour of SiC, Si₃N₄ and SiC/Si₃N₄ composite ceramics were investigated with oscillating sliding (gross slip fretting) at room temperature. The influence of counter body material and the humidity of the surrounding air was studied with a ball-on-disc configuration with different ball materials (1000Cr6, Al₂O₃ SiC and Si₃N₄). The effect of RH on friction is marginal with exception of SiC (low friction) as counter body material. The wear behaviour, however, is strongly affected by humidity, showing inverse trends for different counter body materials. Consequently, the wear behaviour of a tribo couple can be improved by selecting an adequate mating material. The results reveal the necessity to control RH in tribological tests. For estimation of the performance of tribo couples under varying environmental conditions, a variation of RH is required. In tribo couples with single phase SiC, either as ball or disc, the tribological behaviour of the system is dominated by SiC. The friction behaviour of the composite material is in between the behaviour of the two single phase materials, Si₃N₄ and SiC, whereas the wear behaviour is very similar to that of single phase Si₃N₄.     

Influence of Temperature and Relative Humidity on the Friction and Wear of Unlubricated Reciprocating Sliding Steel/ Steel Couples

Many tribosystems are subjected to different conditions with respect to temperature and humidity. Reciprocating sliding tests with steel/steel couples were performed using a laboratory test rig in air with varying relative humidity and temperature. During each test the friction force, the total linear wear, the electrical contact resistance, and the acoustic emission were recorded. Tests with self‐mated couples of bearing steel (100r6) and of stainless steel (X10CrNiMoNb18‐10/X5CrNi18‐9) in a ball‐on‐disc arrangement revealed small effects of temperature and humidity on friction, but a strong effect of the water vapour content on the wear rate of the system. Attempts were made to correlate changes of wear behaviour with different wear mechanisms.     

The repeatability of friction and wear results obtained from unlubricated reciprocating sliding tests

Laboratory tests can help in the analysis of tribological failures of elements, and improve tribo‐systems by choosing appropriate materials. In order to characterise the friction and wear behaviour of candidate materials, various different test methods have been developed in the past and are still in use. One such method is the reciprocating sliding of a ball against a disc. In the work reported here, the repeatability of friction and wear results was evaluated with ten tests under identical conditions with a steel (100Cr6) or alumina (Al₂O₃) ball against a steel (100Cr6) disc under unlubricated conditions at room temperature. The influence of ambient humidity on friction and wear behaviour was determined in three additional tests in dry and in moist air, respectively. The repeatability of friction coefficient in normal air was better than 5% for alumina/100Cr6 and 12% for 100Cr6/100Cr6, while the repeatability of volumetric wear was slightly better than 10% for alumina/steel, and slightly worse than 10% for steel/steel. For both couples the coefficient of friction is lowest in moist air and about 50% higher in dry air. The coefficient of wear is also least in moist air and higher by a factor of 3(5) in dry air for tests with a 100Cr6 (alumina) ball.     

Tribological characterisation of a‐C:H coatings at room temperature: Effect of counterbody material

Metal‐free amorphous carbon (a‐C:H) coatings with 15% hydrogen were deposited on bearing steel surfaces. The friction and wear performance of these specimens was characterised in oscillating sliding tests with a ball‐on‐flat geometry. Balls of four ceramic and four metallic materials were investigated in tests at room temperature. Special attention was paid to the effect of moisture by testing in dry, normal, and moist air. The effect of water vapour on the friction and wear of the a‐C:H coatings was quite different for the different counterbody materials. The wear was in all cases very low, with a coefficient of wear below 10⁻⁷ mm³/N m for most cases. The coefficient of friction was also very low, between 0.04 and 0.12 for most of the tests. The smallest wear and friction coefficients were found for oxide ceramics, while during tests against SiC and Si₃N₄ the coating was worn through during the test. The effects of counterbody material and the humidity of the surrounding air are discussed in terms of friction and wear mechanisms.     

Tribological characterisation of hard coatings with and without DLC top layer in fretting tests

The potential of coatings to protect components against wear and to reduce friction has led to a large variety of protective coatings. In order to check the success of coating modifications and to find solutions for different purposes, initial tests with laboratory tribometers are usually done to give information about the performance of a coating. Different Ti‐based coatings (TiN, Ti(C,N), and TiAlN) and NiP were tested in comparison to coatings with an additional diamond‐like carbon (DLC) top coating. Tests were done in laboratory air at room temperature with oscillating sliding (gross slip fretting) with a ball‐on‐disc arrangement against a ceramic ball (Al₂O₃). Special attention was paid to possible effects of moisture (relative humidity). The coefficient of friction was measured on line, and the volumetric wear at the disc was determined after the test from microscopic measurements of the wear scar and additional profiles. The friction and wear behaviour is quite different for the different coatings and depends more or less on the relative humidity. The DLC coating on top of the other coatings reduces friction and wear considerably. In normal and in moist air the coefficient of wear of the DLC top‐layer coating is significantly less than 10⁻⁶ mm³/Nm and the coefficient of friction is below 0.1. In dry air, however, there is a certain tendency to high wear and high friction. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the influence of surface finish of SSiC on the results of tribological laboratory tests in the case of water lubricated oscillating sliding

The development of materials for tribological applications requires characterisation of their friction and wear behaviour. This characterisation is often based on tribological model testing, working with simple shaped specimens, running under well-defined conditions. Discrepancies in test results may arise from the fact that non-standard tests with different sets of operational parameters are used. An essential starting point for the development of tribological standards is knowledge of the main parameters that influence the tribological properties. One aspect that is not often adequately taken into account is the surface finish of the test specimens. Results are presented of friction and wear tests with self-mated SSiC couples (ball on disc), running in water in an oscillating sliding mode. The surfaces of the disc were ground, lapped, or polished, respectively, running against a polished ball. For certain test conditions, the influence of the surface finish on wear is found to be negligible, while for other conditions, the wear rate can differ by one order of magnitude or even more. The consequences for the standardisation of wear tests of ceramic materials are discussed.     

Oscillating sliding wear behaviour of SiC,TiC, TiB2, 59SiC–41TiB2 and 52SiC–24TiC–24TiB2 materials up to 750°C in air

The tribological behaviour of different monolithic and composite ceramics was evaluated in the temperature range between room temperature and 750°C. The test method was oscillating sliding with a ball‐on‐disk arrangement in an SRV machine. Alumina balls were used as counter body. The friction behaviour was determined on‐line, and the wear behaviour was determined from calculations on the basis of wear scar dimensions and profilometric measurements. The friction depends on temperature and shows an increase for most materials for increasing temperature; the smallest friction at all temperatures is found for monolithic TiC. The wear behaviour shows different trends for the different materials. In tests against SiC a maximum of wear is found at 500°C, for TiC at 200°C and for TiB₂ at 750°C. The composite ceramics suffer the smallest wear of all materials in the range from 200°C to 500°C. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tribological behaviour of SiC?TiC?TiB2 composites under unlubricated sliding conditions

The friction and wear behaviour of eight different SiC TiC TiB₂ composite materials, with a practically constant SiC:TiC ratio of 1 and an increasing amount of TiB₂, was determined comparatively in oscillating sliding tests at room temperature under unlubricated conditions. The influence of the relative humidity (RH) of the surrounding air was investigated in tests in dry, normal, and moist air. All tests were performed against SiC balls and Al₂O₃ balls as counterbodies. The friction was affected by RH but barely at all by the composition of the composites. The wear resistance of the composites was found to be improved considerably by addition of TiB₂ in the range 20–60%. The highest wear resistance of the system was found when Al₂O₃ was used as the counterbody material.     

Tribological behaviour of alumina sliding on several kinds of materials

Friction and wear behaviour of alumina sliding on various materials (nickel, copper, titanium, aluminium, alumina) were investigated experimentally. Pin-on-disc tests were conducted in air at various relative humidity levels (RHL). The results show that the influence of humidity depends on the material of the couples. Tribological behaviour of alumina sliding on very reactive metals such as titanium and aluminium is not influenced by RHL. In contrast, the friction coefficient and wear mechanism of nickel and copper are strongly affected by adsorbed films of water vapour. Nickel implanted with boron was also studied. The friction and wear of implanted surfaces are drastically reduced due to a lowering of the nickel surface reactivity. The tribological behaviour of the Al₂O₃/Al₂O₃ couple is also sensitive to RHL. The variation of friction coefficient and wear of this system are discussed in terms of tribochemical reactions and crack propagation.     

Tribological characterization of thin hard coatings by reciprocating sliding tests

Thin hard coatings on metal or ceramic surfaces offer a large spectrum of improvements of the friction and/or wear behaviour of tribosystems. The development of coatings and the tailoring of their properties require test methods providing information about their friction and wear behaviour. A new wear test standard (ASTM) is under development for the evaluation of friction and wear quantities for sliding motions using the reciprocating sliding mode. The applicability of this test method to coated specimens was checked by testing uncoated and coated steel specimens in contact with alumina balls, whereby lower loads were used than in the ASTM proposal for bulk materials. Additionally, the influence of the relative humidity of the surrounding air at room temperature on friction and wear results was examined.     

Analysis of different strategies to reduce fretting wear in thin steel roping wires

After having checked in a previous study the influence of stroke and normal load in laboratory fretting tests accomplished with thin steel roping wires, in this paper the effect of the contact pressure (test configuration), environmental conditions (relative humidity) and reduction of the friction coefficient (lubricants) on the wear behaviour were analysed. The wires were 0.45 mm in diameter and the material was a cold‐drawn eutectoid carbon steel (0.8% C) with a Tensile Strength over 2800 MPa. The tests were performed on an oscillating test rig and the volumetric wear of both specimens of the tribocouple was determined separately from three‐dimensional topographies of the wear scars acquired by means of a confocal profiler, and a calculation algorithm developed in using MATLAB^®. The strong effect of humidity and lubrication on wear behaviour was proved, whereas a slight effect of contact pressure was derived. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the influence of test parameters on friction and wear of ceramics in oscillating sliding contacts

The tribological behaviour of different ceramics in contact with steel was studied for the case of oscillating sliding motion with a ball-on-disc apparatus. The influence of several test condition parameters was investigated by a systematic variation of the stroke, frequency, and normal load at room temperature in laboratory air at different levels of relative humidity. Each of the four parameters was varied in three stages. While the coefficient of friction was only mildly influenced by the operational variables, the coefficient of wear showed great variations and depended strongly on the humidity of the surrounding air. The effect of the operational variables and of the humidity on friction and wear varied for the different materials under investigation.     

Friction and wear behaviour of hard coatings in vibrating contacts

The friction and wear behaviour of thin hard coatings, such as TiN and the promising class of C-based coatings (a-C, a-C:H, and diamond for example), are compared under oscillating and reciprocating sliding conditions. The typical effects of test parameters, such as stroke, frequency, normal force, relative humidity and test duration, are described as a basis for the proper selection of test conditions or, conversely, for the selection of suitable coatings for particular practical applications. Friction and wear data from over 1000 vibrating tests using thin hard coatings against 100Cr6 and against Al₂O₃ have been compiled in a database. This allows easy manipulation and comparison of test results. Using selection criteria and filter procedures (e. g., lifetime of coatings, friction limits, and critical wear rate), suitable coating systems for different test conditions can be chosen from the database. The effects of test parameters on friction and wear behaviour and changes have anyway to be known for meaningful tribotesting, as well as for the selection of coatings.     

Tribological behaviour of MW PACVD diamond coatings in vibrating contacts

Six diamond coatings were produced by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapour deposition (MW PACVD) on polished SiC substrates. Process gas pressure and process gas composition were varied systematically, resulting in different coating morphologies, roughnesses and grain sizes. Friction and wear were investigated for unlubricated vibrating contact conditions in air at room temperature. Tribological tests on diamond coatings were performed in a ball-on-disc configuration, with steel balls (100Cr6) and alumina balls acting as counterbodies. For comparison of the tribological performance of the diamond coatings, standard tests were performed with a stroke of 200 μn, a load of 10 N, and a frequency of 20 Hz. The effect of relative humidity (RH) was investigated by testing in dry (3% RH), in normal (50% RH), and in moist air (100% RH), respectively To investigate running-in effects and wear propagation, the test duration (10⁴, 10⁵, and 1.2·10⁶ sliding cycles) was varied. For steel/diamond pairings, high wear at the steel ball and high friction were measured, influenced by roughness and grain size of the diamond coating and by relative humidity. For Al₂O₃ against diamond, a pronounced running-in of friction and wear was found. High friction and high wear at the beginning of each test are followed by a stationary phase with extremely low friction coefficients (⩽ 0.05) and with wear rates below the limit of resolution. This running-in depends on grain size and roughness of the coating, on relative humidity, as well as on the operational parameters. Surface analysis using SEM, EDX, LRS and AFM was conducted, to investigate tribologically induced surface changes.     

Tribological Performance of Diamond and Diamondlike Carbon Films at Elevated Temperatures

In this study, the authors investigated the tribological performance of diamond and diamondlike carbon (DLC) films as a function of temperature. Both films were deposited on silicon carbide (SiC) by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition and ion-beam deposition processes. Tribological tests were performed on a reciprocating wear machine in open air (20 to 30% relative humidity) and under a 10 N load using SiC pins. For the test conditions explored, the steady-state friction coefficients of test pairs without a diamond or DLC film were 0.7 to 0.9 and the average wear rates of pins were 10^?5 to 10^?7 mm³/N·m, depending on ambient temperature. DLC films reduced the steady-slate friction coefficients of the test pairs by factors of three to five and the wear rates of pins by two to three orders of magnitude. Low friction coefficients were also obtained with the diamond films, but wear rates of the counterface pins were high due to the very abrasive nature of these films. The wear of SiC disks coated with either diamond or DLC films was virtually unmeasurable while the wear of uncoated disks was substantial. Test results showed that the DLC films could afford low friction up to about 300° C. At higher temperatures, the DLC films graphitized and were removed from the surface. The diamond films could withstand much higher tempera-lures, but their tribological behavior degraded. Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to elucidate the friction and wear mechanisms of both films at high temperatures.     

The influence of humidity on the fretting behaviour of PVD TiN coatings

The influence of the relative humidity (RH) in ambient air on the friction and wear behaviour of PVD TiN coatings subjected to contact vibrations against corundum and bearing steel (100Cr6) counterbodies has been investigated. The fretting experiments were performed in the gross-slip regime on TiN coatings produced by three different PVD processes. The results indicate two basic friction characteristics. At low relative humidity (RH < 10%), the friction force is in the range of the normal force whereas it is less than one third of the normal force in atmospheres of high relative humidity (RH > 80%). A transition from high to low friction was observed during the course of experiments performed in atmospheres of medium relative humidity. The duration of the high friction phase in such transitions was found to depend on fretting parameters such as the normal force and the vibration frequency. This humidity dependence of the friction force was found for both counterbody materials. The size of the damaged surface area as well as the volumetric wear on the TiN coatings were found to be largest at low relative humidity. Fretting damage occurs over a smaller area but extends more into the depth at high relative humidity. The size of the fretted surface area induced on TiN is larger for Cr-steel than for corundum counterbodies.     

Influence of Normal Force and Humidity on the Friction and Wear of Unlubricated Reciprocating Sliding Steel/Steel Couples

The friction and wear behaviour of different steel/steel couples was investigated in laboratory tests with unlubricated reciprocating sliding motion. Two different steel balls were tested against two different steel discs in dry, normal, and moist air at room tem‐perature. The influence of normal force on friction and wear was studied in the range from 1 to 10 N for all three levels of relative humidity (RH). RH strongly influenced wear behaviour for all four couples, while the friction behaviour was less affected by RH. For all the couples, normal force was found to influence wear rate with a tendency for the wear rate to increase with decreasing normal force. The coefficient of friction also increased with decreasing normal force, but to a much lesser extent than that evaluated for the wear rate.     

The tribological behaviour of paper friction plates for wet clutch applications investigated on SAE II and pin‐on‐disc test rigs

The friction behaviour of wet clutches for automatic transmission applications strongly influences the dynamic behaviour of the entire machine or vehicle, including the transmission. The wear, and also the friction curve, determines the life of the clutch. In this research, both SAE II and pin‐on‐disc tests have been used to investigate the wear and friction characteristics of paper friction material. A comparison is made of the friction coefficients and the wear rates obtained on both test rigs. Although the pin‐on‐disc tests failed to reproduce correctly the wear rates of the SAE II tests, they can be used for a qualitative analysis of the influence of material parameters and operating conditions on both friction coefficients and wear rates.