Effect of contact load on fretting fatigue behaviour of steel wires

Abstract

The tension–tension fretting fatigue tests of steel wires were performed on a self-made fretting fatigue test equipment under contact loads ranging from 40 to 70 N and a strain ratio of 0·8. The results showed that when the contact load increased, the fretting regime of steel wires transformed from gross slip regime to mixed fretting regime. The fretting fatigue life in the mixed fretting regime was significantly lower than that in the gross slip regime. The main fretting wear mechanisms in the gross slip regime, where there were serious fretting damage and a lot of wear debris, were abrasive wear and fatigue wear. Microcracks were observed in the fretting scar of the mixed fretting regime, and the main fretting wear mechanisms were adhesive and fatigue wears. The fretting wear scar was the fatigue source region, and the fatigue fracture surface could be divided into three regions.     

Amplitude-controlled transitions in fretting: the comparative behaviour of six materials

Fretting tests have been carried out on six materials: EN3, EN56 and EN58 steels, copper, titanium and aluminium bronze. Each was tested at 1000 N normal load, for a total fretting distance of 2 km at peak-to-peak amplitudes of 6.5 and 65 μm. With the exception of the last material, the appearance of the fretted specimens differed at the two amplitudes and the difference in appearance was directly related to the amount of wear experienced. At the lower amplitude wear was always slight with very small, flat, smooth oxide beds, a few microscopic pits and very little material loss. At the higher amplitude wear tended to be far more severe with large amounts of pitting, surface roughening and the formation of more extensive, and generally looser, oxide debris. The results suggest that amplitude-based transitions in fretting behaviour appear to be real and widespread. Thus the phenomena associated with fretting are closely allied to the mechanics of the fretting process and are not purely material properties.     

An investigation of fretting behaviour of several metallic materials under grease lubrication

Fretting wear tests under grease lubrication have been carried out on an aluminium alloy, 52100 steel and low-alloy steel. The sphere–flat contact configuration is used. The influence of the displacement amplitude and normal load is investigated. Comparison between dry and lubricated contact of aluminium alloy, between 52100/52100 steel and 52100/low-alloy steel contact with grease lubrication has been carried out. Results show that grease lubrication strongly affects fretting behaviour. Base oil that separated from the grease during friction may result in accelerated contact wear by fretting.     

Non-newtonian thermal analysis of an EHD contact lubricated with MIL-L-23699 oil

A thermal and non-Newtonian fluid model under elastohydrodynamic lubrication conditions is proposed, integrating some particularities, such as the separation between hydrodynamic and dissipative phenomena inside the contact. The concept of apparent viscosity is used to introduce the non-Newtonian behaviour of the lubricant and the thermal behaviour of the contact into the Reynolds equation, acting as a link element between the hydrodynamic and dissipative components of the EHD film, independently of the rheological and thermal models considered. The apparent viscosity enables the application of the rheological model better adapted to each lubricant, without appealing to special formulations of the EHD problem.The Newton–Raphson technique is used to obtain the lubricant film geometry and the pressure distribution inside the EHD contact. The shear stresses developed in the fluid film are evaluated assuming the non-linear Maxwell rheological model. The surfaces and lubricant temperature distributions are determined using the simplified Houpert's method, applied to the inlet contact zone, and the thermal method proposed by Tevaarwerk is applied in the high pressure contact zone.The non-Newtonian thermal EHD model is applied to the analysis of a contact lubricated with MIL-L-23699 oil. Significant results are obtained for the centre and minimum film thickness, for the inlet shear heating and film thickness reduction factor (φ_T), for the temperature rise of the lubricant and of the surfaces and for the friction coefficient inside the contact, considering wide ranges of the operating conditions (maximum Hertzian pressure, inlet oil temperature, rolling speed and slide-to-roll ratio).Finally, the numerical traction curves determined are compared with the corresponding experimental results, showing very good correlation.     

Friction behavior of quenched and tempered steel in partial and gross slip conditions in fretting point contact

Tangential traction caused by friction in contacting surfaces is a major factor in fretting fatigue that increases stress levels and leads to a reduction in fatigue life. Friction in fretting contact was studied in partial, mixed and gross slip conditions on quenched and tempered steel. Measurements were made with sphere-on-plane contact geometry for polished and ground surfaces. Friction was evaluated from on-line energy ratio and, after the tests, from wear marks. A maximum friction coefficient of over 1.0 was measured at mixed slip zone with polished surfaces, whereas ground surfaces promote lower values in similar operating conditions. The friction coefficient dependence on load cycles and loading frequency is also presented and briefly discussed. The friction data and understanding thus gained is to be used for evaluation of crack initiation with the numerical fretting fatigue model.     

Tribological properties of metal-plastic multilayer composites under oil lubricated conditions

Three kinds of metal-plastic multilayer composites, which were composed of a steel backing, a middle layer of sintered porous bronze and a surface layer of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filled by Pb or Cu₂O powders, were prepared. The friction and wear properties as well as the limiting pressure times velocity (PV) values of these metal-plastic multilayer composites sliding against 45 carbon steel under both dry and oil lubricated conditions were evaluated on a MPV-1500 friction tester with a steel axis rotating on a journal bearing. The worn surfaces of these metal-plastic multilayer composites and the transfer films formed on the surface of steel axis were examined by electron probe microscopy analysis (EPMA). Experimental results show that filling of Pb to PTFE reduces the friction coefficient and wear of the composite, while filling of Cu₂O to PTFE increases the friction coefficient but decreases the wear of the composite. The friction and wear properties as well as the limiting PV values of these metal-plastic multilayer composites can be greatly improved with the oil lubrication. EPMA investigations show that Pb and Cu₂O fillers preferentially transfer onto the surfaces of steel axis, which may enhance or deteriorate the adhesion between transfer films and steel surfaces. Meanwhile the transfer of these metal-plastic multilayer composites onto the steel surface can be greatly reduced with oil lubrication, which results in the remarkable decrease of the wear of these metal-plastic multilayer composites.     

A fatigue endurance criterion in two stages with application to fretting contact

In this paper we propose a fatigue endurance criterion suitable for mechanical components under high stress gradients. It is composed of two stages in order to predict both short and long crack arrest. In the first stage, a non-local multiaxial fatigue criterion measures the potential for crack initiation/short crack arrest. In the second stage, linear elastic fracture mechanics is used to evaluate the possibility of long crack arrest. The predictions of the fatigue criterion are compared with available experimental data obtained with cylinder-flat contacts under partial slip, fretting wear conditions. The results show that the proposed criterion can describe the endurance mechanisms observed in the experimental data.     

On the mechanisms of various fretting wear modes

According to relative motion directions for a ball-on-flat contact, there are four fundamental fretting wear modes, e.g., tangential, radial, torsional and rotational modes. In this paper, the mechanisms of these four fundamental fretting wear modes, particularly for the later three modes, have been reviewed from results obtained by the authors in combination with results from literature. Some general features have been reported. Differences both in running and degradation behavior have been discussed in detail. Results showed that some similar laws for three fretting regimes (partial slip regime, mixed regime and slip regime), fretting maps (running condition fretting map and material response fretting map), wear and cracking mechanisms obtained from the classic mode (i.e. tangential fretting) were also identified and useful to characterize the other modes. Nevertheless, the occurrence of relative slip for the radial fretting, the formation of mixed regime for the torsional fretting, the evolution of surface morphology for the rotational fretting were quite different compared to that of the classical fretting mode.     

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.     

Friction and wear properties of metal powder filled PTFE composites under oil lubricated conditions

Four kinds of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based composite, pure PTFE, PTFE+30vol.%Cu, PTFE+30vol.%Pb and PTFE+30vol.%Ni composite, were prepared. The friction and wear properties of these metal powder filled PTFE composites sliding against GCr15 bearing steel under both dry and lubricated conditions were studied using an MHK-500 ring-block wear tester. The worn surfaces of the PTFE composites and the transfer films formed on the surface of GCr15 bearing steel were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy respectively. Experimental results show that the friction and wear properties of the PTFE composites can be greatly improved by liquid paraffin lubrication. The wear of these PTFE composites can be decreased by at least 1 to 2 orders of magnitude compared with that under dry friction conditions, while the friction coefficients can be decreased by 1 order of magnitude, SEM and optical microscopy investigations of the rubbing surfaces show that metal fillers of Cu, Pb and Ni not only raise the load carrying capacity of the PTFE composites, but also promote transfer of the PTFE composites onto the counterfaces, so they greatly reduce the wear of the PTFE composites. However, the transfer of these PTFE composites onto the counterfaces can be greatly reduced by liquid paraffin lubrication, but transfer still takes place.     

Application of influence function method on the fretting wear of tube-to-plate contact

The structural integrity of steam generators in nuclear power plants is much dependent on the fretting wear characteristics of Inconel 690 U-tubes. The influence function method for the tube-to-plate contact model is demonstrated in this study to investigate the fretting wear problems on the secondary side of the steam generator, which are caused by flow induced vibrations between the U-tubes and supports. Two-dimensional numerical contact model is developed and formulated in terms of the Cauchy singular integral equation. The distributions of normal pressures, shear stresses and displacement fields are derived between two contact bodies which have similar elastic properties. Based on the algorithms for normal pressures and relative slip, a numerical approach is developed to simulate the fretting wear of tube-to-plate contacts. The work rate model is adopted in this study to find the wear amounts between two materials. The results are compared with the solutions by finite element analyses to validate the application of the present method to fretting wear problems.     

三环减速器偏心套微动磨损分析

三环减速器在运转过程中产生磨损及发热的原因是作用于偏心套上的交变转矩在平键联接处产生的微动现象。本文提出了消除微动磨损的有效措施。     

Progress in standardization of fretting fatigue terminology and testing

This paper reviews the current ASTM, ISO, and other standards that pertain in part to fretting fatigue and fretting wear testing. A historical perspective gives some background on why there still are relatively few standards for fretting fatigue and fretting wear testing. Current standards on the books tend to be application specific. In the past few years, there have been some new activities in standardization. These developments along with future needs in standardization are discussed.     

Fretting wear behavior of nanocrystalline surface layer of pure copper under oil lubrication

Lubricated fretting tests in mineral oil were performed with a nanocrystalline surface layer on a pure bulk Cu prepared by surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) against a WC-Co ball. It was found that the nanocrystalline surface layer exhibited a markedly enhanced fretting wear resistance and higher friction coefficient relative to the coarse-grained (CG) form. The wear volume of the SMAT Cu is one order of magnitude lower than that of the CG Cu. The friction coefficient of the SMAT Cu increases with an increasing load and frequency, while for the CG Cu, the friction coefficient increases with an increasing fretting frequency up to 100 Hz and thereafter decreases. The higher hardness of the SMAT Cu is suggested to be the main factor causing its improved wear resistance and higher friction coefficient. A discontinuous metal transfer layer can be found on the WC-Co ball only after fretting against the SMAT Cu, which may partly account for the higher wear resistance of the SMAT Cu in comparison with the CG Cu.     

Improvement of the fretting damage resistance of Ti-811 alloy by Cu/Ni multilayer films

The Cu/Ni multilayer films were prepared on the titanium alloy surface by ion-assisted magnetron sputtering deposition (IAD) technique. The Cu/Ni multilayer films could significantly improve the resistance of fretting wear and fretting fatigue (FF) of Ti-811 alloy at room temperature. The FF resistance of the titanium alloy substrate did not increase monotonically with increase in the modulation period thickness of the Cu/Ni multilayer films. The Cu/Ni multilayer films with modulation period thickness of 200 nm had the highest FF resistance among the prepared Cu/Ni multilayer films for its comprehensive properties with high toughness, high strength and good lubricating action.     

Prediction of fretting wear using boundary element method

The simulation method of the fretting wear prediction using boundary element method is developed. The contact pressure and the contact width which is the first step to predict fretting wear are obtained from contact analysis of a semi-infinite solid based on the use of influence functions and patch solutions. The geometrical updating is based on nodal wear depths computed using Archard’s equation for sliding wear. The prediction of fretting wear for two cases of contact problems is performed; one is two-dimensional cylinder on flat contact which is for the comparison with a previous model by finite element method; the other is three-dimensional spherical contact. It is observed that for two-dimensional cylindrical contact the boundary element method developed in this study reduced the calculation time by 1/48 compared to FE method. We also showed the use of developed simulation technique is efficient to predict the fretting wear for three-dimensional spherical contact.     

Radial fretting behaviours of dental ceramics

Radial fretting tests on a Si₃N₄ ceramics ball opposite to the two dental ceramics flats (Vita VMK95 and Cerec Vita Mark II) have been carried out. The test apparatus was developed from a tension-compression hydraulic machine. Maximum normal load (F_max) was varied from 100 to 800 N with a speed of 6 mm/min, and the number of cycles from 1 to 10⁵. The fretting scars were examined by optical microscope and laser confocal scanning microscope (LCSM). The results of kinetics behaviours showed that all loading and unloading curves of load (F)–displacement (D) curves were almost superposed in the whole fretting process for two dental ceramics under a lower normal load (), and all F–D curves opened, correspondingly some micro-cracks initiated and developed in contact area, when the normal load increased to a higher level (). Under lower normal load, the fretting scars displayed the worn zones in shape of annulus. The cracks in shape of homocentric circularity can be observed for Vita VMK95 at and for Cerec Vita Mark II at . Therefore, there is better radial fretting damage resistance for Cerec Vita Mark II. In the microslip zone, the microscopic analysis showed that the particles detached by the mechanism of delamination. It the meantime, the competing mechanisms of fatigue cracks and wear also were discussed in this paper.     

The effect of fretting on the fatigue behaviour of plasma nitrided stainless steels

The plain fatigue and fretting fatigue behaviour of a plasma nitrided dual phase stainless steel known as 3CR12 and an AISI 316 austentic stainless steel have been studied in the present work, using a modified Wohler rotating-bending configuration. Test specimens were produced at two nitriding temperatures, namely 400 and 520 °C, representing low temperature and conventional nitriding temperature, respectively. The test results demonstrate that both nitriding processes can enhance the plain fatigue limit of these steels by approximately 10-25%, with the high temperature process being slightly more effective. Under fretting fatigue conditions, the beneficial effect of plasma nitriding is even more significant and the fretting fatigue limit is increased between 50 and 100% for 3CR12 and at least 50-150% for the AISI steel as the nitriding temperature is raised from 400 to 520 °C.     

Simulational study of electrical contact degradation under fretting corrosion

The simulation model of electrical contact resistance variation under various oxide fractions is constructed considering thermal-electrical coupled effects. The copper oxide is allocated on the contact area with various fractions by random distribution technique with finite element method. The contact degradations of experimental and analytical results are compared. The quantitative relation between insulation fraction and electrical resistance increment is analyzed.