Fretting wear behavior of nitrogen ion implanted titanium alloys in bovine serum lubrication

Nitrogen ion implantation was performed on biomedical titanium alloys by using of the PBII technology to improve the surface mechanical properties for the application of artificial joints. The titanium nitride phase was characterized with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The nanohardness of the titanium alloys and implanted samples were measured by using of in-situ nano-mechanical testing system (TriboIndenter). Then, the fretting wear of nitrogen ion implanted titanium alloys was done on the universal multifunctional tester (UMT) with ball-on-flat fretting style in bovine serum lubrication. The fretting wear mechanism was investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and 3D surface profiler. The XPS analysis results indicate that nitrogen diffuses into the titanium alloy and forms a hard TiN layer on the Ti6Al4V alloys. The nanohardness increases from 6.40 to 7.7 GPa at the normal load of 2 mN, which reveals that nitrogen ion implantation is an effective way to enhance the surface hardness of Ti6Al4V. The coefficients of friction for Ti6Al4V alloy in bovine serum are obviously lower than that in dry friction, but the coefficients of friction for nitrogen ion implanted Ti6Al4V alloy in bovine serum are higher than that in dry friction. Fatigue wear controls the fretting failure mechanism of nitrogen ion implanted Ti6Al4V alloy fretting in bovine serum. The testing results in this paper prove that nitrogen ion implantation can effectively increase the fretting wear resistance for Ti6Al4V alloy in dry friction, and has a considerable improvement for Ti6Al4V alloy in bovine serum lubrication.     

Torsional Fretting Wear Behavior of Bonded MoS2 Solid Lubricant Coatings

The effects of applying a bonded MoS₂ solid lubricant to a 1050 steel substrate were investigated using a torsional fretting wear apparatus. Tests were conducted under a normal load of 50 N with angular displacement amplitudes ranging from 0.1 to 5°. Wear scars were examined using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, optical microscopy, and surface profilometry. The MoS₂ coating exhibited different torsional fretting regimes than those of the substrate. Fretting regimes of the coating were primarily in the partial slip regime (PSR) and the slip regime (SR) with no mixed fretting regime. The width of the PSR narrowed. Due to the lubricating effects of the coating, the friction torque was consistently lower than that of the substrate. The damage to the coating in the PSR was very slight, and its granular structure remained even after 1,000 cycles. The damage mechanism to the SR coating was a combination of abrasive wear, oxidative wear, and delamination. The MoS₂ coating had potential to alleviate torsional fretting wear.     

DLC多层膜对1Cr1 8Ni9Ti钢微动磨损性能的影响

用非平衡磁控溅射与等离子体源离子注入（PSII）的混合技术，研究了类金刚石碳（DLC）多层膜对1Cr18Ni9Ti钢微动磨损性能的影响。结果表明：注入N后，改性层内形成了CrN和Fe3N等氮化物相；PSII技术能够提高1Cr18Ni9Ti钢基体的微动磨损性能；试验所制备的DLC多层膜比N注入层具有更好的微动磨损性能。     

Fretting wear behaviors of a railway axle steel

Fretting damage was one of the most important reasons for the failure of the railway axle. Fretting wear (tangential fretting mode) tests of a railway axle steel (LZ50 steel) flats against 52 100 steel balls were carried out under different normal loads and displacement amplitudes on a hydraulic fretting wear rig. Dynamic analyses in combination with microscopic examinations have been performed. The experimental results showed that the fretting regimes of the LZ50 steel were strongly dependent upon the imposed normal loads and displacement amplitudes. The F_t/F_n curves exhibited different variation trends in different fretting running regimes. The fretting scars presented slight damage in partial slip regime. In mixed fretting regime, the trace of the plowing and plastic deformation flow can be observed on the fretting scars. The wear mechanism during this regime was the combination of the abrasive wear, oxidative wear and delamination accompanied with obvious plastic deformation. The detachment of particles and plowing traces were the main phenomena in slip regime. And, thicker debris layer covered the contact zone of the scar. The severe degradation in slip regime presented the main wear mechanisms of abrasive wear, oxidative wear and delamination.     

Effects of sliding velocity on tribo-oxides and wear behavior of Ti–6Al–4V alloy

Dry sliding wear tests were performed for Ti–6Al–4V alloy on a pin-on-disc wear tester. The wear behavior of Ti–6Al–4V alloy at sliding velocities of 0.5–4 m/s was studied and the tribo-oxides and their function were explored. Ti–6Al–4V alloy presented a marked variation of wear rate as a function of velocity. With the rise and fall of wear rate, Ti–6Al–4V alloy underwent the transitions of wear mechanisms from the combination of delamination wear and oxidative wear at lower speeds to delamination wear at 2.68 m/s, and then to oxidative wear at 4 m/s. These phenomena were attributed to the appearance and disappearance of tribo-oxides. In spite of trace or a small amount, tribo-oxides would change the wear behavior, and even wear mechanism.     

Fretting of CoCrMo and Ti6Al4V alloys in modular prostheses

Implantation of a total hip replacements (THR) is an effective intervention in the management of arthritis. Modularity at the taper junction of THR was introduced in order to improve the ease with which the surgeon could modify the length of the taper section and the overall length of the replacement. Cobalt chromium (Co–28Cr–6Mo) and titanium (Ti–6Al–4V) alloys are the most commonly used materials for the device. This study investigates the fretting behaviour of both CoCr–CoCr and CoCr–Ti couplings and analyses their damage mechanisms. A reciprocating tribometer ball on plate fretting contact was instrumented with in situ electrochemistry to characterise the damage inflicted by tribocorrosion on the two couplings. Fretting displacements amplitudes of 10, 25 and 50?μm at an initial contact pressure of 1?GPa were assessed. The results reveal larger metallic volume loss from the CoCr–CoCr alloy compared to the CoCr–Ti alloy, and the open circuit potential indicates a depassivation of the protective oxide layer at displacement amplitudes >25?μm. In conclusion, the damage mechanisms of CoCr–CoCr and CoCr–Ti fretting contacts were identified to be wear and fatigue dominated mechanisms respectively.     

Achieving High Tribological Performance of Graphite-like Carbon Coatings on Ti6Al4V in Aqueous Environments by Gradient Interface Design

A duplex treatment involving nitrogen ion pre-implantation and gradient interfacial transition was performed to obtain a high-performance graphite-like carbon (GLC) coating on a Ti6Al4V alloy. Characteristics of the as-deposited coating systems were systemically investigated by Raman spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, nano-indentation, and scratch tests. The friction and wear behaviors in distilled water and sea water environments were evaluated by a ball-on-disk tribometer. The results showed that the GLC multilayer coating on nitrogen ion-implanted Ti6Al4V possessed a greater hardness and adhesion strength than to that on un-implanted Ti6Al4V. The tribological performances of these duplex process systems showed a great improvement in both the distilled water and sea water environments. In particular, the Cr/CrN/GLC coatings on nitrogen ion-implanted substrates demonstrated the best friction and wear behaviors. These striking improvements were attributed to the greatly enhanced interface strength between substrate and coating by the nitrogen ion implantation process and improved adhesion strength between gradient layers by the appropriate gradient interlayers with a similar thermal expansion coefficient.     

Research on torsional fretting wear behaviors and damage mechanisms of stranded-wire helical spring

Wear on the local area of steel wires’ surface is attributed to torsional fretting on the working process of stranded-wire helical spring. A mathematical model to calculate normal contact force and angular displacement amplitude among the wires is established first when the spring is impacted. With the experimental parameters obtained from the model, the torsional fretting test, which stimulates torsional fretting among the wires in the working process of the spring, is realized successfully on a newly developed fretting tester. Torsional fretting behaviors are strongly dependent upon normal contact force, angular displacement amplitude, and number of cycles. There are three basic types of T-θ curves (short for torque), angular displacement curves during the process of torsional fretting, namely, parallelogram, elliptic, and linear T-θ curves. To analyze the damage mechanisms, distribution maps of oxygen in the wear scar of spring wires under different working conditions are revealed. The damage gets slight in the partial slip region, mainly with the abrasive wear and the slight oxidative wear, whereas the wear mechanisms are mainly the abrasive wear, the oxidative wear, and the delamination, accompanied with obvious plastic deformation in the mixed fretting and slip regions.

     

The effect of temperature on gross slip fretting wear of cold-sprayed nickel coatings on Ti6Al4V interfaces

Fretting wear is an accumulation of damage that occurs at component interfaces that are subjected to high contact stresses coupled with low-amplitude oscillation. In metallic contacts, surface oxides, adhesion, and material transfer play a primary role in the initial stages of fretting wear degradation. Given these behaviors, the focus of this study was to determine the effect of temperature on inter-metallic fretting wear between Ti6Al4V (titanium, 6% aluminum, 4% vanadium) and cold-sprayed, commercially pure nickel coatings. The results presented herein show that increased temperature decreases friction through the formation of a uniform NiO layer, and by a reduction of Ni₂O₃ in contacts. In addition, it was found that a localized minimum friction coefficient is achieved at approximately 300 °C, above which friction increases slightly due to annealing of the cold-sprayed coatings.     

High temperature fretting wear behavior of WC-25Co coatings prepared by D-gun spraying on Ti-Al-Zr titanium alloy

Detonation gun (D-gun) spraying is one of the most promising spraying techniques for producing wear-resistance coatings. A thick layer (about 0.3 mm thickness) of WC-25Co with high hardness was covered on Ti-Al-Zr titanium alloy by D-gun spraying and the fretting wear behavior of WC-25Co coatings was studied experimentally on a high precision hydraulic fretting wear test rig. An experimental layout was designed to perform fretting wear tests at elevated temperatures from room temperature (25 °C) to 400 °C in ambient air. In the tests, a sphere (Si₃N₄ ceramic ball) was designed to rub against a plane (Ti-Al-Zr titanium alloy with or without WC-25Co coatings). It was found that the fretting running regimes of WC-25Co coatings were obviously different from those of Ti-Al-Zr titanium alloy. The mixed fretting regime disappeared in WC-25Co coatings, and the boundaries in the running condition fretting map (RCFM) showed hardly any change as temperature increased. The worn scars were examined using a laser confocal scanning microscope (LCSM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that the coefficients of friction (COF) of WC-25Co coatings at elevated temperatures were nearly constant in the partial slip regime and very low in the steady state. The fretting damage of the coatings was very slight. In the slip regime, the WC-25Co coatings exhibited a good wear resistance, and the wear volume of the coatings obviously decreased with increasing tested temperature. The fretting wear mechanisms of WC-25Co coatings were delamination, abrasive wear and oxidation wear at elevated temperature. The oxide debris layer formed at higher temperature was denser and thicker on top of WC-25Co coatings, thus providing more surface protection against fretting wear, which played an important role in the low fretting wear of the coatings.     

Fretting corrosion behaviour of Ti–6Al–4V/PMMA contact in simulated body fluid

Abstract

The fretting corrosion of a Ti–6Al–4V flat in contact with a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) ball in 0·9 wt-% NaCl solution was investigated using a fretting rig operating under electrochemical control. The effect of potential and of normal load on friction, wear and electrochemical response was studied under gross slip regime. No noticeable mechanical deterioration of the Ti–6Al–4V surface could be observed. At anodic potential, alloy corrosion was only slightly enhanced by fretting. Wear of PMMA was large and controlled by third body formation. A correlation between PMMA wear coefficient and thickness of third body was observed.     

Mo离子注入提高TC4合金微动磨损抗力的研究

对TC4合金进行了Mo离子注入表面改性处理,利用摩擦磨损试验机进行了点接触微动磨损试验,借助读数显微镜和表面粗糙度仪测量出有关参数,计算出试样的微动磨损体积。结果表明,Mo离子注入使试样表面硬度提高,微动磨损体积明显降低。在微动磨损初期,Mo离子注入具有较好的减摩效果。Mo离子注入带来的表面强化效应是基体合金的微动磨损抗力得以提高的主要原因。     

Effect of surface treatment by ceramic conversion on the fretting behavior of NiTi shape memory alloy

Three types of surface-treated NiTi samples, M-1 (700 °C/0.5 h), M-2 (650 °C/1 h) and M-3 (400 °C/50 h), were prepared by ceramic conversion treatment under different conditions. The effect of the surface treatment on the fretting behavior of NiTi alloy was investigated in the Ringer’s solution by using a horizontal servo-hydraulic fretting apparatus. The experimental results indicated that the surface layer of the low temperature (400 °C) treated samples M-3 was dominated by a single TiO₂ layer, while the high temperature (650 and 700 °C) treated samples M-1 and M-2 consisted of surface TiO₂ layer followed by a TiNi₃ layer. These surface layers were found to have a strong effect on the fretting behavior of the NiTi alloy in terms of changes in the shape of the curves of the tangential force (F _t) versus displacement (d), the fretting regimes and the damage mechanisms involved. The stress-induced reorientation of martensite bands in the NiTi alloy could decrease the slope of the F _t–d curve and thus increase the elastic accommodation ability of the NiTi plate against 1Cr13 steel ball pair. However, since the surface-treated layers could suppress the martensite reorientation in the NiTi substrate and thus decrease the elastic accommodation ability of NiTi, the gross slip started at a smaller displacement amplitude for the surface-treated NiTi samples than for the untreated one. The main wear mechanism of the as-received NiTi alloy in slip regime was adhesion and delamination, while the major damage to the high temperature treated NiTi samples M-1 and M-2 was determined as the spallation of surface-treated layers. Due to the high bonding strength of the surface-treated layer with NiTi substrate, the low temperature treated NiTi samples M-3 showed the best fretting wear resistance in all samples tested.     

An experimental study torsional fretting behaviors of LZ50 steel

Four simple fretting modes are defined according to relative motion: tangential, radial, rotational, and torsional fretting. This paper presents a new test rig that was developed from a low-speed reciprocating rotary system to show torsional fretting wear under ball-on-flat contact. Torsional fretting behavior was investigated for LZ50 steel flats against AISI52100 steel balls under various angular displacement amplitudes and normal loads. The friction torques and dissipation energy were analyzed in detail. Two types of T–θ curves in the shape of quasi-parallelograms and ellipticals were found that correspond to gross and partial slips, respectively. The experimental results showed that the dynamic behavior and damage processes depend strongly on the normal loads, angular displacement amplitudes, and cycles. In this paper, the debris and oxidation behaviors and detachment of particles in partial and gross slip regimes are also discussed. Debris and oxidation are shown to have important roles during the torsional fretting processes. The wear mechanism of torsional fretting was a combination of abrasive and oxidative wear and delamination before third-body bed formation. The mechanism was then transformed into third-body wear after a great amount of debris formed.     

Tribochemistry of a Ti Alloy Under Fretting in Air: Evidence of Titanium Nitride Formation

The present investigation focuses on the tribological transformation occurring on a Ti alloy (Ti17) under fretting in air. Several fretting wear tests were performed on a large scale punch on plane configuration (two types of planes tested: bare Ti6242 and CuNiIn-coated Ti6242) at several temperatures from ambient up to 450 °C. In all the cases, two zones were identified on the scars: a lateral oxidized rim and a highly deformed region at centre. Metallurgical observations revealed similarities with Tribologically Transformed Structure (TTS), previously observed on various Ti alloys. In the framework of this article, careful analyses were conducted (EDX, DRX, XPS, HRTEM and EFTEM) in order to identify the nature and chemistry of this transformed layer. Results demonstrated the formation of a new phase, nanocrystalline, identified as TiO _x N _y . The high content of nitrogen found in the TTS indicated its ability to penetrate inside the contact and react with titanium. At 50 μm under the surface, a FIB preparation enabled the observation in TEM of N-rich lamellae (TiO _x N _y ) in the Ti (α) matrix. Two models were suggested to explain this tribochemical reaction under fretting.     

Influence of counterbody material on fretting wear behaviour of surface mechanical attrition treated Ti–6Al–4V

Surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) was carried out on Ti–6Al–4V. Fretting wear tests were conducted using two counterbody materials (alumina and steel). SMAT resulted in surface nanocrystallization. Due to high hardness, low tangential force coefficient (TFC) and more TiO₂ layer, fretting wear resistance of SMAT treated samples was higher than that of the untreated samples. TFC values obtained with alumina counterbody were higher than those obtained with steel counterbody. The fretting wear resistance of untreated and treated samples fretted against alumina was lower than that of the samples fretted against steel due to tribochemical reactions at the contact zone.     

On the fretting wear mechanism of Zr-alloys

Zirconium alloys are highly desirable in nuclear applications due to their transparency to thermal energy neutrons and for their high corrosion resistance. The main objective of this study is to investigate the fretting wear mechanism of Zr–2.5%Nb alloy. The experimental work was carried out in air at 265 °C, using a specially designed fretting wear tribometer. The transfer of material, the change in the wear volume and the maximum wear depth with the number of cycles were measured through 3D mapping of the topography of the fretted surface. SEM and Fourier Transform Infrared Interferometry methods were used to examine the microspall pits and to measure the distribution of the thickness of oxide layer in the fretting region. For relatively small slip amplitude, the results showed that the fretting wear mechanism is initially dominated by adhesion and abrasion actions and then by delamination and surface fatigue. The time variation of the wear losses was shown to be cyclic until a steady state value is reached. At high slip amplitudes, however, abrasion and delamination are the only dominant wear mechanisms. The volumetric wear losses were found to decrease monotonically with the number of cycles. A novel approach was introduced, whereby the thermal and electrical contact resistances of the fretting interface are simultaneously measured. The results demonstrated the potential use of this non-intrusive approach for real-time monitoring of the fretting wear mechanism.     

Comparison of nano-f`retting and nano-scratch tests on biomedical materials

Nano-scratch and nano-fretting tests were performed on highly polished biomedical grade Ti6Al4V, 316L stainless steel and CoCr alloy samples using a 3.7 μm sphero-conical diamond indenter in a commercial nanomechanical test system (NanoTest). Over a wide range of experimental conditions the CoCr alloy showed significantly better wear resistance. The scratch recovery and mean contact pressure for plastic deformation in a low pass repetitive scratch test both correlated with mechanical properties determined from nanoindentation testing. Decreases in friction during the initial wear cycles of this low-cycle test were consistent a reduction in ploughing. In the extended nano-fretting tests Ti6Al4V and 316L stainless steel showed delamination wear.     

Increasing the tribological performances of Ti–6Al–4V alloy by forming a thin nanoporous TiO2 layer and hydroxyapatite electrodeposition under lubricated conditions

In this study, comparative investigation of (i) untreated Ti–6Al–4V alloy, (ii) nanoporous thin TiO₂ layer formed by controlled anodic oxidation and (iii) electrodeposited hydroxyapatite coatings into porous oxide layer was carried out for evaluation of sliding-wear performances in a bio-simulated environment. Wear mechanisms, wear volumes and friction coefficients of the three types of surfaces under lubricated conditions in a bio-simulated solution were recorded and analyzed. The results presented herein show that, under the investigated tribocorrosion conditions (under reciprocating sliding), both surface treatments applied have improved the wear resistance and friction coefficients as compared to the untreated Ti–6Al–4V alloy surface.     

Mild Sliding Wear of Fe–0.2%C,Ti–6%Al–4%V and Al-7072: A Comparative Study

The mild sliding wear of Fe–0.2%C, Ti–6%Al–4%V and Al-7072 was investigated by means of pin-on-disc sliding tests. The applied pressure was 1 MPa and the sliding velocity was varied between 0.2 and 1 m/s. The sliding behaviour was followed by continuous measurements of the friction coefficient, pin wear and pin temperature. For the Fe alloy, wear was mixed (delamination and oxidation), and friction and wear coefficients were found to decrease with sliding velocity. The Al and Ti alloys displayed a different behaviour, characterised by the occurrence of sliding distance transitions at 0.8 and 1 m/s for the Al alloy, and at 0.4 up to 1 m/s for the Ti alloy. Before the transition, the wear coefficient of the Al alloy was very low, because of the presence of a compacted tribolayer on the sliding surface. After the transition wear was by delamination: the wear rate increased but the friction coefficient decreased. For the Ti alloy, wear occurred by oxidation and was quite high before the transition. After the transition, both the wear rate and the friction coefficient decreased, although the wear process became unstable with repeated oscillations in the friction coefficient. The results allowed us to highlight the role of flash temperature in determining the wear mechanisms of the alloys under study and the necessity of properly considering the sliding distance transitions to make reliable comparisons and obtain guidelines for safe operations.