Dynamic Friction and Wear in a Planar-Contact Encapsulated Microball Bearing Using an Integrated Microturbine

The demonstration and characterization of a novel planar-contact encapsulated microball bearing using a radial in-flow microturbine are presented. Stable operation of the air-driven silicon microturbine is shown for over 1 000 000 revolutions at speeds, pressure drops, and flow rates of up to 10 000 r/min, 0.45 lbf/in², and 3.5 slm, respectively. Incorporation of a gas thrust plenum using a novel packaging scheme has enabled comprehensive spin-down friction characterization of the encapsulated microball bearing. An empirical power-law model for dynamic friction has been developed for speeds of 250-5000 r/min and loads of 10-50 mN, corresponding to torques of 0.0625-2.5 muNldrm and friction torque constants of 2.25-5.25 x 10^-4 muNldrm/ r/min. The onset and effect of wear and wear debris have been studied, showing negligible wear in the load bearing surfaces for the operating conditions considered.     

An on-chip micro-friction tester for tribology research of silicon based MEMS devices

An on-chip micro-tribotester has been developed to investigate the friction and wear properties on side contacting surfaces of single crystal silicon that is most widely used in usual microelectromechanical systems actuators. The device is fabricated with standard bulk silicon process and bonding technology based on parameters that have been theoretically calculated to get the stiffness and friction forces. In this device, two comb shuttles are used. One comb shuttle is used to contact the friction surfaces under a certain normal load. The other comb shuttle moves back and forth to provide relative motion between the two friction surfaces. The tested two surfaces are the top surface of an anchor with rounded end and the lateral surface of a beam that has been connected to the two comb shuttles. Tribology experiments on the etched silicon surfaces that are side contacted have been carried out. Friction coefficients testing results suggest that dynamic friction coefficient is about 0.31–0.33 and the obtained static friction coefficient increases with the decrease of normal force. Wear experiment indicates that oxidation happens between the rubbing surfaces during the course of the testing. Wear debris is collected as agglomerates because of the function of adhesion force and water vapor and the agglomerates that are collected on top and lateral surfaces are of different shapes.     

An analysis method for atomistic abrasion simulations featuring rough surfaces and multiple abrasive particles

We present a molecular dynamics (MD) model system to quantitatively study nanoscopic wear of rough surfaces under two-body and three-body contact conditions with multiple abrasive particles. We describe how to generate a surface with a pseudo-random Gaussian topography which is periodically replicable, and we discuss the constraints on the abrasive particles that lead to certain wear conditions. We propose a post-processing scheme which, based on advection velocity, dynamically identifies the atoms in the simulation as either part of a wear particle, the substrate, or the sheared zone in-between. This scheme is then justified from a crystallographic order point of view. We apply a distance-based contact zone identification scheme and outline a clustering algorithm which can associate each contact atom with the abrasive particle causing the respective contact zone. Finally, we show how the knowledge of each atom’s zone affiliation and a time-resolved evaluation of the substrate topography leads to a break-down of the asperity volume reduction into its components: the pit fill-up volume, the individual wear particles, the shear zone, and the sub-surface substrate compression. As an example, we analyze the time and pressure dependence of the wear volume contributions for two-body and three-body wear processes of a rough iron surface with rigid spherical and cubic abrasive particles.     

抛光过程游离单颗磨粒与光学元件间滚动摩擦接触分析

针对游离单颗磨粒与光学元件滚动接触过程中摩擦、磨损机理分析的不足及如何 有效控制滚动单颗磨粒对光学元件亚表面损伤的影响等问题,基于滚动接触理论,提出了一种 具有分形特征表面的单颗磨粒与光学元件双粗糙面间的摩擦、磨损接触模型,并运用有限元仿 真分析微观动态滚动的接触过程。通过对不同剪切强度下接触力、接触应力、磨粒角度及其对 亚表面损伤的影响等分析,发现随着剪切强度的增强,磨粒与光学元件表面接触界面间的摩擦 系数将减小,最佳的磨粒角度为105°~120°,并且分形特征的单颗磨粒对亚表面损伤的影响要 大于球形特征单颗磨粒,这说明了研究分形特征游离单颗磨粒滚动接触的必要性和重要性,为 更加深刻了解滚动接触过程的摩擦机理提供了借鉴意义。     

基于电容传感的滑油磨粒监测技术研究进展

航空发动机内部旋转部件等区域的磨损,是造成其故障的重要原因.磨损所产生的磨粒是旋转部件磨损状况的重要信息载体,对滑油磨粒进行在线监测,不仅能够掌握滑油系统的健康状态,而且能诊断和评价滑油流经的旋转部件的磨损状况.电容传感器因其结构简单、集成度高、灵敏度高等优势,在滑油监测领域具有应用前景.主要介绍了基于电容测量原理的不...     

基于有限元技术滑油屑末监测器检测机理研究

针对目前滑油系统中磨粒特征计算精度不高的问题,提出了一种新型基于COMSOL和ANSYS Maxwell联合仿真的计算方法,并以外电路补偿方式修正模型提高计算精度,能有效分析传感器对不同磨粒种类、大小和位置等特征的响应.研究结果表明:该方法能够计算磨粒通过传感器时,感应电压的大小;由于检测机理不同,当分别检测铁磁性和非...     

Object extraction from an image of wear particles on a complex background

The object extraction of a debris image is an important basic task in identifying wear particles in ferrographic analysis. However, there is some difficulty in object extraction because of noise jamming in the original debris image. In the present study, two methods of image enhancement—weighted mean filtering and adaptive median filtering—were applied in order to improve the image quality. Then, the adaptive thresholding selection method was used, which is based on an improved debris image. Finally, the effective segmentation of the debris image and the automatic extraction of debris objects were realized. At the same time, targetting the characteristics of low proportion of an object in the total image, a novel method of adaptive thresholding selection was put forward, which is based on the Ostu thresholding method. The segmentation results along with the debris image prove that the current method can give more precise and accurate segmentation of objects than the classical methods. The results also showed that methods in the present paper were concise and effective, which provides an important basis for the further study of debris recognition, fault diagnosis, and condition monitoring of machines. The text was submitted by the authors in English. Xianguo Hu (born 1963), PhD, is a professor at the School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering at the Hefei University of Technology, China. He received his BS and MS in Powder Metallurgy Material and Mechanics (Tribology) from the Hefei University of Technology in 1985 and 1988, respectively. His PhD degree was awarded at Szent Istvan University, Hungary, in 2002. As a visiting scientist, he conducted research at the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary, and the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, from 1994 to 1997. His research areas include wear debris analysis, optimal tribological design, friction and wear mechanisms, etc. He is the author or coauthor of more than 100 published technical papers. Peng Huang (born 1981) is an MS student at the School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering of Hefei University of Technology, China. His main focus is on wear debris analysis. Shousen Zheng (born 1963) is an associate professor at the School of Engineering, SunYat-Sen University, China. He received his BS, MS, and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Hefei University of Technology in 1985, 1988, and 2001, respectively. From 1988 to 2004, he was employed at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Hefei University of Technology. In 2005, he moved to the current university. His research interests include computer language, auto CAD/CAM, wear debris analysis, etc. He is the author or coauthor of more than 40 published technical papers.     

In situ tribometry with real-time imaging for assessing durability and wear mechanisms of easy-to-clean coatings on glass for touchscreen substrates

Touchscreens are now commonplace around the world, and easy-to-clean (ETC) coatings are integral in ensuring an enhanced usability and interactivity with these devices. In the present work, we evaluate the durability and study the wear mechanisms of a fluorine-containing easy-to-clean coating on glass using an in situ tribometer (TribTik). The TribTik is equipped with a microscope lens and camera system that allows one to image, in real time, the contact area between the glass substrate and the abrading counterpart. Through this unique combination, the instantaneous coefficient of friction and the contact area’s status can be monitored and correlated in situ. The in situ monitoring enables one to stop the abrasion cycles at critical stages of the wear process so that the morphology and composition of the wear tracks can be examined in an effort to understand the wear mechanisms of the ETC. We demonstrate that changes in the instantaneous coefficient of friction (COF) are correlated with changes in the in situ images. Critical stages of wear evolution are also identified via optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Raman analyses. The evolution of the ETC wear mechanism, from start to finish, was found to be described by the following sequence: (1) generation of unconsolidated debris, (2) formation of a layered tribofilm, (3) cracking of the tribofilm, and (4) general failure of the ETC and subsequent damage to the underlying glass substrate. Our study shows that, TribTik, a tribometry system with real-time imaging capability, is a powerful tool to characterize the tribological properties of coatings on touchscreens and/or display substrates.     

A MEMS Device for Studying the Friction Behavior of Micromachined Sidewall Surfaces

A microelectromechanical system device fabricated by deep reactive ion etching for friction characterization was developed with single-crystal silicon in this paper. Two orthogonally placed electrostatic comb-drive actuators were adopted to apply the normal load and generate the tangential motion. A sensing plate for sliding contact and a driving plate with two bumps designed for the Hertzian contact are included in the testing device. With an image processing technique developed, experimental displacement data were extracted from the captured video frames. A quasi-static stick–slip model was developed to predict the transitions between static and kinetic friction at the contacting sidewall surfaces. Both static and kinetic friction coefficients can be determined by using this model, and these measured results are shown to be insensitive to errors in the calculation of the electrostatic forces. The measured displacements of the driving and sensing plates are in good agreement with the trend predicted by the model. Based on the Hertz theory, the contact silicon interface has been found to be in an elastic regime at the scale of the designed bumps. With the aid of the quasi-static stick–slip model, a saturation phenomenon of the kinetic friction at the sidewall surfaces was observed while the normal load was increased. $hfill$[2007-0302]      

基于磨损机理的磨粒图像识别仿真

机械设备磨损过程中产生的磨粒,可以利用智能识别技术进行识别。通过对切削磨粒、球状磨粒、疲劳磨粒以及严重滑动磨粒的磨损机理的研究,提出了能够识别各类磨粒的显著特征,将特征参数进行量化表征,并以特征参数为输入向量,建立支持向量机分类器模型,运用层次法对分类器进行训练,优化分类器的参数,最后利用分类器模型对磨粒图像进行识别以验证识别方法的可行性。实验结果表明,支持向量机分类器识别磨粒类型准确率较高,可以用于磨粒图像的识别。     

Tribological investigations of LIGA-microstructures

The performance and lifetime of micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) is strongly affected by friction and wear. We therefore analysed the friction and wear characteristics of microstructures produced by the LIGA-process. The measurements were carried out in a special designed microtribometer, which is capable to work inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and hence offering the possibility of a high resolution in-situ observation of the microscopic tribological mechanism during operation of the system. The material combinations investigated were chosen in order to represent the most important tribological junctions occurring in the ‘micro-motor’ and ‘micro-turbine’ currently produced by the LIGA-technique. We studied the tribological properties of nickel-nickel micro components (LIGA-side-wall/LIGA-sidewall and LIGA-bottom side/LIGA-top side), as well as nickel micro components (bottom side)-Al₂O₃-ceramic substrates (contact between rotor-base). The results indicate a strong influence of the relative humidity level (RHL) on the friction and wear properties of the metal/ceramic as well as of the metal/metal contacts appearing in the LIGA-MEMS, showing the lowest level of friction and wear at high RHL-values. We also found out that the friction and wear parameters were highly influenced by the applied surface pressure. Changing the surface pressure results in the formation of different kinds of wear debris accumulating or smearing out in the wear track. The metal oxides produced hereby in the wear track can lower adhesion and thus reduce the friction of the system.     

Sub-micron coatings with low friction and wear for micro actuators

 This paper deals with the fabrication and characterisation of friction and wear reduced nano-films for micro actuator applications. For this investigation films of diamond-like-carbon (DLC), metal doped Me-DLC, carbon-nitride CN _x , boron-nitride BN and alumina Al₂O₃ films have been applied in the thickness range of 20–500 nm. The hardness of those coatings varied between 10 and 60 GPa. Micromechanical and microtribological properties of nano-coatings have been characterized by a modified scanning probe microscope. Besides this a novel micro tester for abrasive wear measurement of nano coatings was used. Friction of micro-contact areas was measured by use of a pin-on-disc tester. It turned out, that friction was – besides other parameters – dependent on determination method and load. Friction determined at areal DLC/DLC contact zones was generally much higher (μ_DLC 0.1) than diamond tip versus DLC (∼μ _DLC 0.06). Received: 19 June 2001/Accepted: 15 September 2001     

Morphology and autowave metric on CNN applied to bubble-debris classification

We present the initial results of cellular neural network (CNN)-based autowave metric to high-speed pattern recognition of gray-scale images. The approach is applied to a problem involving separation of metallic wear debris particles from air bubbles. This problem arises in an optical-based system for determination of mechanical wear. This paper focuses on distinguishing debris particles suspended in the oil flow from air bubbles and using the CNN technology to create an online fault monitoring system. The goal is to develop a classification system with an extremely low false alarm rate for misclassified bubbles. The CNN algorithm detects and classifies single bubbles and bubble groups using binary morphology and autowave metric. The debris particles are separated based on autowave distances computed between bubble models and the unknown objects. Initial experiments indicate that the proposed algorithm is robust and noise tolerant and when implemented on a CNN universal chip it provides a solution in real time.     

Tribological investigations of LIGA-microstructures

 The performance and lifetime of micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) is strongly affected by friction and wear. We therefore analysed the friction and wear characteristics of microstructures produced by the LIGA- process. The measurements were carried out in a special designed microtribometer, which is capable to work inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and hence offering the possibility of a high resolution in-situ observation of the microscopic tribological mechanism during operation of the system. The material combinations investigated were chosen in order to represent the most important tribological junctions occurring in the ‘micro-motor’ and ‘micro-turbine’ currently produced by the LIGA-technique. We studied the tribological properties of nickel–nickel micro components (LIGA-sidewall/LIGA-sidewall and LIGA-bottom side/LIGA -top side), as well as nickel micro components (bottom side)– Al₂O₃-ceramic substrates (contact between rotor-base). The results indicate a strong influence of the relative humidity level (RHL) on the friction and wear properties of the metal/ceramic as well as of the metal/metal contacts appearing in the LIGA-MEMS, showing the lowest level of friction and wear at high RHL-values. We also found out that the friction and wear parameters were highly influenced by the applied surface pressure. Changing the surface pressure results in the formation of different kinds of wear debris accumulating or smearing out in the wear track. The metal oxides produced hereby in the wear track can lower adhesion and thus reduce the friction of the system. Received: 30 October 1995/Accepted: 18 December 1995     

基于模糊聚类分析的彩色磨图像目标提取

运用模糊聚类分析的模糊C－均值算法（FCM算法）。针对两类彩色显微磨粒图像,选用适当的正交彩色特征,实现了对磨粒目标的有效提取。并考虑在一维分割特征向量情况下,通过引入直方图统计特性,实现了模糊C－均值算法的快速运算。本文算法为磨粒识别和机械磨损状态监测及故障诊断提供了可靠的前提。最后,分割实验表明了本文方法的简洁有效性。     

Study of the stiction free magnetic recording head with DLC pad

This paper presents the study of the stiction free magnetic recording head which has diamond-like-carbon (DLC) pad for use with laser zone texture disk and smooth disk. The magnetic recording head with DLC pad is one of the potential solutions to extend contact start stop (CSS) technology for further lower head-disk spacing, since it can decrease stiction and friction between magnetic recording head and magnetic recording disk during CSS. The optimization of air bearing surface (ABS) design for improving take off characteristics, the optimization of DLC pad design for improving tipping stability and the result of CSS reliability test under several environments are shown in this paper. It is found that the occurrence of tipping accelerates the wear of DLC pad, the degradation of the lubricant and the wear of carbon overcoat (COC) protective layer on the disk. Finally it is shown that the magnetic recording head, which has optimized ABS and optimized DLC pad, has small coefficients of stiction less than 2.0 and reliable CSS performance at 15 nm flying height (FH) on the laser zone texture disk having low bump height. Tipping and major wear of DLC pads are not observed under several environmental conditions with this optimized design.     

Nanotribological characterization of perfluoroalkylphosphonate self-assembled monolayers deposited on aluminum-coated silicon substrates

Aluminum-coated silicon substrates are commonly used for various micro/nanooptoelectromechanical systems (MOEMS/NOEMS) including Digital Micromirror Devices (DMD^®). For efficient and failure proof operation of these devices, ultra-thin lubricant films of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are increasingly being employed. Fluorinated molecules are known to exhibit low surface energy, adhesion, and friction, desirable for tribological applications. In this study, we investigate contact angle, surface energy, friction, adhesion, and wear properties of a perfluoroalkylphosphonate SAM and compare them with those of alkylphosphonate SAMs. The influence of relative humidity, temperature, and sliding velocity on the friction and adhesion behavior is studied. Failure mechanisms of SAMs are investigated by wear tests. These studies are expected to aid in the design and selection of proper lubricants for MOEMS/NOEMS.     

单晶硅研磨过程的声发射在线监测研究

本文在BIN62型超精密研抛机的基础上设计了研磨过程的声发射在线监测装置,试验研究了不同研磨工况对声发射信号RMS值和材料去除率的影响规律,采用回归分析方法建立了材料去除率与声发射信号RMS值的线性数学模型,并通过声发射波形的频谱分析和表面形貌的观测研究了单晶硅研磨过程中的声发射源机制。结果表明：在保持其他研磨工况不变的条件下,声发射信号RMS值随着研磨压力或研磨速度的增加而增加;根据RMS值可实现材料去除率的在线监测,在给定研磨工况范围内材料去除率预测模型的预测误差小于4.2%;声发射波形的频谱分析技术可用于声发射源机制的识别,单晶硅研磨过程中声发射信号主要的频率成分出现在50 kHz~260 kHz频段内,声发射信号主要来源于材料的脆性解理、磨粒磨损和轻微粘结磨损。     

Nanoscale Pattern Definition on Nonplanar Surfaces Using Ion Beam Proximity Lithography and Conformal Plasma-Deposited Resist

Ion beam proximity lithography (IBL) is a technique where a broad beam of energetic light ions floods a stencil mask and transmitted beamlets transfer the mask pattern to resist on a substrate. With a depth-of-field up to 20000 times larger than the minimum feature size and the high-throughput potential of a parallel exposure tool, IBL is very attractive for prototyping and manufacturing nanoelectromechanical systems over the steep topography of micromachined silicon wafers. This paper reports a conformal resist coating process that unlocks this potential. This negative-tone resist, plasma-polymerized methyl methacry- late, has a sensitivity of 27 muC/cm² and a contrast of 1.3 for 30-keV He⁺ ion exposures and amyl acetate developer. Sub-100-nm features have been printed down the sidewall and across a membrane at the bottom of a 500-mum-deep anisotropically etched pit in a silicon wafer. Pattern fidelity is near 2 nm for 10-nm features. Lines have also been formed on unpolished substrates, including rolled titanium foils and coarse-ground silicon wafers. Patterns on ground silicon have been etched into the surface using a nickel hard mask and SF₆/O₂ reactive ion etching.     

Strategic developments to improve the optimization performance with efficient optimum solution and produce high wear resistance aluminum–copper alloy matrix composites

The aim of the present study was to find better developments to improve the performance of population optimization, especially from the angle of keeping the population diversity, to enhance the global search in the early part of the optimization and to encourage the particles to converge toward the global optima at the end of the search. The results were used to optimize the fabrication process conditions of the high wear resistance boron carbide-reinforced Al matrix composites. An experimental investigation was then carried out on the abrasive wear behavior of Al alloy matrix composites in terms of abrasive particle size, weight fraction and applied load in pin-on-disk type of wear machine.