Failure modes of sliding lubricated concentrated contacts

The mechanisms of film failure of lubricated concentrated contacts are discussed in relation to critical failure data of operating variables, calculations of scoring surface temperatures and scanning electron photomicrographs of worn contact zone topographies. Depending on the critical values of operating variables failure modes in the form of local break through of EHD oil film at the outlet end of the contact zone as well as gross thermal desorption effects were found.     

A system for wear prediction in lubricated sliding contacts

A system of analysis is developed to predict the rate of wear in sliding contacts. The essence of the approach is the proposal that the rate of wear can be predicted only in probabilistic terms. Therefore, the estimation of the probability of wear, which can be regarded as synonymous with the probability of surface asperity contacts, precedes the calculation of the wear rate. Further, recognising the fact that wear takes place within the actual area of contact, it is argued that this area consists of plastic and elastic contacts between asperities which, in turn, have different shear strengths and contribute differently to the wear process. In the case of lubricated contact, a frictional film defect represents the influence of a lubricant on the wear process. Moreover, as in this type of contact the load is supported by both lubricating film and contacting asperities, a special procedure is provided to estimate the load supported by the asperities, because it is only that part of the load which contributes to the wear. The catastrophic form of wear in lubricated contacts, that is termed ‘scuffing’, is also considered, and the probability of scuffing, under a given set of operating conditions, is estimated. The predictive system has been tested and its predictions are compared with available experimental results.     

Influence of surface texture on boundary lubricated sliding contacts

The friction and wear behaviour of boundary lubricated sliding surfaces is influenced by the surface texture. By introducing controlled depressions and undulations in an otherwise flat surface, the tribological properties can be improved. Lubricant can then be supplied even inside the contact by the small reservoirs, resulting in a reduced friction and a prolonged lifetime of the tribological contact.In the present paper, well-defined surface textures were produced by lithography and anisotropic etching of silicon wafers. The wafers were subsequently PVD coated with thin wear resistant TiN or DLC coatings, retaining the substrate texture. The size and shape of the depressions were varied and evaluated in reciprocating sliding under dry and boundary lubricated conditions.     

Scuffing behaviour of salt-bath nitrided steel in loaded lubricated sliding/rolling contacts

The modified 3 in (76.2 mm) David Brown disc machine has been used to investigate the effect on scuffing performance of grinding away various amounts from the surface of nitrided steel discs. The results revealed a systematic deterioration in scuffing resistance as the surface nitrogen concentration decreased, but quantitative correlation between these parameters was hindered by the inadequacies of electron probe X-ray microanalysis as a tool for measuring low nitrogen concentrations. It was concluded that there is no safe depth to which Tenifer-treated (salt-bath nitrided) C15 steel can be ground without impairing its scuffing performance. Other disc tests were carried out to assess the effect on scuffing of phosphate treatment and oil formulation. Results showed that, while phosphate treatment is valuable when running against untreated steel, it is of no benefit against Tenifer-treated steel. On the other hand, the formulation of the lubricant was found to improve the scuffing resistance of Tenifer-treated steel     

An indirect electric field effect on the friction of boundary‐lubricated contacts

To achieve significant friction variations by means of an externally applied voltage, it is found to be more effective to impose an electric field on the area surrounding a tribopair rather than directly through the contact. Using a new applied electric field setup, the friction behaviour of ceramic‐metal tribopairs, lubricated with an aqueous emulsion, is investigated. The potential affects the surface characteristics during the instant that the surface is out of rubbing contact. Consequently, the nominal frictional behaviour differs from that with no potential effect. The unexcited, excited, and post‐excited friction results for six different ceramic‐metal couples using a pin‐on‐disc tester are presented, and their characteristics are summarised.     

Friction models for sliding dry, boundary and mixed lubricated contacts

Friction, lubrication, and wear have a strong influence on the performance and behavior of mechanical systems. This paper deals with different friction models for sliding contacts running under different conditions. The models presented are suited to different situations, depending on the type of contact, running conditions, and the behavior of interest. The models will be discussed from simulation and tribological points of view. The different types of friction models considered are:

• friction models for transient sliding under dry, boundary and mixed lubrication conditions,

• friction models for micro-displacements of engineering surfaces subjected to transient sliding,

• friction models often used in the simulation and control of technical systems,

• combined friction models that represent physical behaviors fairly well but are also suitable for use in simulating systems,

• friction models that take into account the stochastic nature of interacting surface asperities.

Tribological properties of plasma nitrided AISI 4140 steel under dry and lubricated sliding conditions

In this investigation, the microstructural, mechanical and tribological properties of plasma and pulse plasma nitrided AISI 4140 steel have been investigated in comparison to hardened steel. The influence of nitriding case depth, as well as the presence of a compound layer, have been tribologically examined for both dry and lubricated sliding. Testing was carried out on a pin‐on‐disc machine in which surface‐treated pins were mated to hardened ball bearing steel discs. The surface treated samples were characterised using metallographic, SEM, microhardness and profilometric techniques, before and after wear testing. The resulting wear loss and coefficient of friction were monitored as a function of load and of test time. The results showed improved tribological properties of the AISI 4140 steel after plasma and pulse plasma nitriding as compared to the hardened steel, in both dry and lubricated sliding. However, the compound layer should be removed from the surface, either by mechanical means or by decreasing the amount of nitrogen in the nitriding atmosphere, in order to avoid impairment of the tribological properties by fracture of the hard and brittle compound layer, followed by formation of hard abrasive particles.     

Effects of surface texturing on friction and vibration behaviors of sliding lubricated concentrated point contacts under linear reciprocating motion

Friction and vibration behaviors of lubricated concentrated point contacts with surface texturing have been experimentally investigated under reciprocating motions. Ground, lapped and textured lapped flat surfaces are tested against polished ball surfaces. Coefficient of friction, surface temperature, electrical resistance and vibrations at the lubricated contacts have been measured and analyzed. In the presence of surface texture, the coefficient of friction reduces by 30% in some of the cases. Surface temperature distributions on reciprocating tracks have also been measured and compared. Vibrations associated with lubricated point contacts formed between textured surfaces/balls reduce significantly at resonance frequency in comparison to polished surfaces/balls.     

Surface potential effects on friction and abrasion of sliding contacts lubricated by aqueous solutions

This study has investigated the relationship between applied interfacial electrical potentials and friction and abrasion for steel/steel contacts in alkaline aqueous-based solutions. The potential at a steel-aqueous lubricated surface is important since it determines a number of important surface properties which influence the overall friction and resistance to abrasion. The experimental approach used a pin-on-disc rig incorporating potentiostatic control of the disc between −1.0 and +1.0 V overpotential.Tests employed a load of 50 N at a sliding speed of 0.03 m s⁻¹. EN 24 grade steel, equivalent to AISI 4340, was used as the material for the pin and disc. Tests were conducted in electrolyte that contained electroactive species, namely octanoate ions, which could be “switched on” to the surface. Coefficient of friction measurements were carried out throughout testing and later linked to potential or current density behaviour to assess the mechanical and electrochemical interactions and its effect on wear and friction. The effects of lubricity of the adsorbed layers are discussed and used to explain the performance.     

Laser-induced fluorescence for film thickness mapping in pure sliding lubricated, compliant, contacts

A laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technique has been used to measure fluid film thickness in a compliant, sliding contact under low-load/low-pressure conditions. The soft contact between an elastomer hemisphere and a glass disc is lubricated by a liquid containing fluorescent dye. The contact is then illuminated with 532 nm laser light through the glass disc, and viewed with a fluorescence microscope. From the intensity of emitted radiation, film thickness maps of the contact are determined. Previous calibration procedures have used a separate calibration piece and test specimen with possible errors due to differences in reflectivity between the calibration and test specimens. In the work reported in this paper a new calibration process is employed using the actual test sample, thereby avoiding such errors.Results are reported for a sliding contact between PDMS and glass, lubricated with glycerol and water solutions under fully flooded and starved conditions. It was found that, for glycerol, the measured film thickness is somewhat lower than numerical predictions for both lubrication conditions. It is suggested that a combination of thermal effects and the hygroscopic nature of glycerol may cause the lubricant viscosity to drop resulting in thinner films than those predicted for fully flooded contacts. Starvation occurs above a critical entrainment speed and results in considerably thinner films than predicted by fully flooded I-EHL theory. A numerical study has been carried out to determine the effect of the observed starvation on film thickness. Predicted, starved film thickness values agree well with those obtained experimentally.     

Friction and wear characteristics of steel on rock under water and oil based lubricated sliding conditions

Abstract

In recent years, drilling extended reach wells have become more and more common in the petroleum industry to optimise the oil and gas production. Extended reach wells are defined as wells that have two times more horizontal step out than true vertical depth. High friction (frictional torque) and drag are two of the mechanical limiting factors while drilling longer horizontal wellbores. There are numerous methods and tools developed to lower the drillstring friction. Drilling non-circular wellbores is a new concept with potential to minimise the mechanical friction by reducing drillstring and sidewalls contact area. However, this will cause an increase of contact pressure owing to the reduced contact area between drillstring and the formation. This article presents results obtained from an experimental study pertaining to the friction behaviour using a pin on disc set-up with steel pin and granite disc in the presence of water and oil based lubricants. These tests have been designed to represent frictional contact conditions between a rotating steel drillstring and the wellbore wall at different contact pressures. Test results show that the friction coefficient decreases with an increase of contact pressure in wet condition for both water and oil based lubricants. It is also observed that the friction factor increased by adding sand and phyllite particles to the water based lubricant. Considering the wear scars, the friction coefficient shows reduction with increased contact pressure in all tests with and without particles for both water and oil based lubricants.     

Influence of surface topography and surface modifications on seizure initiation in lean lubricated sliding contacts

Seizure initiation in lean-lubricated contacts was experimentally studied using a transient test method of ball-on-disc type at two different sliding velocities, 2 and 3.8 m/s. Four different nodular cast iron surfaces were tested against a bearing ball of 100Cr6 steel: a fine-milled and roller-burnished surface, a ground and lapped surface, a ground and lapped laser-melted surface, and finally a ground surface. The results show that the ground surface, even though it is smoother than the fine-milled and roller-burnished surface, shows indications of seizure at a lower load. No graphite nodules from the nodular cast iron were visible in the surfaces on inspection with an optical light microscope. In contrast, the ground and lapped surface suffered no initial or total seizure in these tests. In this case, many graphite nodules were visible in the surface, and these nodules became detached in the contact zone, where they probably acted as a solid lubricant. Many graphite nodules were also visible in the ground and laser-melted surface, though in this case the graphite nodules did not become detached. This surface topography initiated seizure under a low normal load, and increased sliding velocity lowered the total seizure load significantly.     

In situ graphite lubrication of metallic sliding electrical contacts

Decoupled graphite lubrication of monolithic silver brushes on a copper rotor was studied in an ambient air environment under current varying from 0 A/cm² to 200 A/cm² using a custom designed electrical contact tribometer. Bifurcation of the positive and negative brush wear rates was observed at a current density of 200 A/cm². Energy dispersive spectroscopy showed transfer of copper from the rotor to the lower wear negative brush. Scanning electron microscopy of worn brush surface cross-sections created by focused ion beam milling revealed a fine-grained metallic layer below the graphite transfer layer on the negative brush surface; no such layer was found on the positive brush surface. At 40 A/cm², steady-state brush wear rates were very low (<10⁻¹¹ m/m). Friction coefficient at steady state was measured to be 0.15 ± 0.02 and was independent of current direction. Using a scanning white light interferometer, the thickness of the graphite transfer layer on the rotor surface was estimated to be 5 μm. Ultimately, the goal is to model lubricant buildup and removal as a competitive rates problem.     

Scuffing of steel under boundary lubricated conditions

This research was conducted to examine whether a relationship exists between the true elastic limit of steel and its scuffing load measured under boundary lubricated conditions. Scuffing tests were carried out on a pin-on-disc machine using steel components which were heat treated to give differeing yield points. Yield point was also altered by testing at elevated temperature. The true elastic limits of steels in the same conditions as for scuffing tests were measured by a highly sensitive technique. True yield points are reported for EN8 steel in both soft and hard condition at room temperature and at 201°C. A difference in scuffing load for soft and hard specimens was measured for certain operating conditions giving some validation of the elastic limit hypothesis. Scuffing testing at elevated temperatures produced some unexpected results which do not allow a thorough proof of the hypothesis. These findings are discussed     

Influence of load and elastic properties on the rolling and sliding friction of lubricated compliant contacts

Lubricated “soft” contacts, where one or both contacting solids have a low elastic modulus, are present in many practical engineering and biological applications including windscreen wipers, wet tyres, elastomeric seals, contact lenses and the tongue/palate system. In such contacts, the prevailing lubrication mode is “isoviscous EHL” (elastohydrodynamic lubrication). Unlike in steel–steel contacts, rolling friction can be considerable and this originates in part from the viscoelastic properties of the compliant surfaces.In this paper the influence on friction of both applied load and the elastic properties of the solids is studied using a mini traction machine. In this machine, the rolling and sliding friction can be separately determined. The viscoelastic properties of the polymers employed are measured using a dynamic mechanical analysis apparatus. The measured friction is compared to theoretical models for soft EHL and the viscoelastic energy losses arising from the contact deformation. Consideration of the frequency dependence of the substrate viscoelasticity enables reasonably accurate predictions of the rolling friction coefficient, especially within the mixed and boundary lubrication regimes.     

Effect of surface texturing on rolling contact fatigue within mixed lubricated non-conformal rolling/sliding contacts

The rolling contact fatigue (RCF) life of highly loaded machine components is significantly influenced by the surface roughness features so that there is a continuous effort to design the topography of rubbing surfaces to enhance lubrication efficiency and prolong the operation of machine components. It can be suggested from the recent experimental results that lubricant emitted from shallow micro-dents could effectively lift off the real roughness features and reduce the asperities interactions within rolling/sliding mixed lubricated contacts. Thereby the additional supply of lubricant from surface features could help to reduce the risk of surface damage through the reduction of the interaction of rubbing surfaces during start-up or starvation. However, the introduction of such roughness features into the rubbing surfaces of highly loaded non-conformal contacts should consider not only the effects on lubrication film thickness but also on RCF.That is why this study is focused on the effects of surface texturing on RCF within non-conformal rolling/sliding contacts operated under mixed lubrication conditions. The principal task has been whether possible beneficial effect on film thickness is not accompanied by the reduction in RCF life. Textures with various sizes of micro-dents and their arrangement within the contacts have been considered. It has been found that results obtained with textured surfaces have exhibited no obvious reduction in RCF. Conversely, some increase in RCF using textured surfaces was observed that could be attributed to the positive contribution of micro-dents working as lubricant micro-reservoirs that reduce asperities interactions. Nevertheless, further experiments are necessary to confirm this possible beneficial contribution of surface texturing on RCF.     

Wear behavior of SiC particulate reinforced aluminum composites sliding against steel balls under dry and lubricated conditions

Wear behavior of Al–Si alloys reinforced with SiC particulate has been investigated under dry and lubricated reciprocating sliding conditions using a ball-on-block wear test method. It was shown that in the dry sliding wear of the composite/steel ball system, the wear mechanism of the composite was predominantly adhesive. With further sliding motion, delamination and abrasive wear occurred as a result of fracture and debonding of the SiC particles. Under lubricated conditions, the wear rate of the composite was drastically reduced due to the presence of the lubricant, and a boundary lubrication condition existed and dominated the normal wear process. The debonding of the SiC particles from the matrix of the composite was a predominant factor in determining the wear loss of the composite in the boundary lubrication sliding process. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Tribological characteristics of low-voltage sliding electrical contacts of gold alloys

The operability of low-voltage sliding electrical contacts made of ZlM-80 and ZlKh-05 alloys has been investigated. The temperature-time parameters of thermal treatment, which ensures the improvement of the physicomechanical properties of alloys and the rise in the operability indices of low-voltage sliding contacts (LVSC), have been investigated. Applying the friction pair of ZlM-80 and ZlKh-05 alloys ensured operation under the conditions of the implementation of the elastic unconcentrated contact in the friction zone and the decrease in the wear rate of low-voltage sliding contacts     

Tribological behavior of sialon ceramics sliding against steel lubricated by fluorine-containing oils

The friction and wear behavior of sialon ceramics sliding against steel and lubricated by perfluoropolyethers (PFPE), tetrakis (3-trifluoromethylphenoxy)-bis(4-fluoro-phenoxy)-cyclotriphosphazene (X-1P) and ionic liquid (1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, coded as L108) were investigated. It was found that the three fluorine-containing lubricants reduced friction coefficient and wear volume effectively. The effectiveness of the three lubricants in reducing wear volume could be ranked as L108>X-1P>PFPE. The antiwear films mainly consisting of organic oxyfluoride or carbonfluoride species and silicon fluoride are all observed for the three lubricants, while the degradation of PFPE during friction might account for the higher wear volume therewith. The lowest friction coefficient 0.065 was recorded for L108 under load of 0.5–400 N. This is dependent on the physically adsorbed ionic liquid on the rubbing surface and the formation of BN under the harsh conditions.