High-temperature friction and wear behaviour of different tool steels during sliding against Al–Si-coated high-strength steel

The recent years have witnessed an increasing usage of high-strength steels as structural reinforcements and in energy-absorbing systems in automobile applications due to their favourable high-strength-to-weight ratios. Owing to poor formability, complex-shaped high-strength steel components are invariably produced through hot-metal forming. The high-strength steel sheets are in some instances used with an Al–Si-coating with a view to prevent scaling of components during hot-metal forming. However, friction and wear characteristics of Al–Si-coated high-strength steel during interaction with different tool steels have not yet been investigated. With this in view, friction and wear behaviours of different tool steels sliding against Al–Si-coated high-strength steel at elevated temperatures have been investigated by using a high-temperature version of the Optimol SRV reciprocating friction and wear tester at temperatures of 40, 400 and 800 °C. In these studies both temperature ramp tests with continuously increasing temperature from 40 to 800 °C and constant temperature tests at 40, 400 and 800 °C, have been conducted. The results have shown that both the friction and wear of tool steel/Al–Si-coated high-strength steel pairs are temperature dependent. Friction decreased with increasing temperature whereas wear of the tool steel increased with temperature. On the other hand, the Al–Si-coated high-strength steel showed significantly lower wear rates at 800 °C as compared to those at 40 and 400 °C. The Al–Si-coated surface undergoes some interesting morphological changes when exposed to elevated temperatures and these changes may affect the friction and wear characteristics. The mechanisms of these changes and their influence on the tribological process are unclear and further studies are necessary to fully explain these mechanisms.     

The machinability and tribological characteristics of aluminum alloys with improved elevated temperature properties using rapidly solidified powder

In this investigation the tribological characteristics of rapidly solidified Al–8Fe–4Ce with improved elevated temperature properties were studied. Such characteristics were compared with cast aluminum–silicon alloy and cast zinc–aluminum alloy. These materials included Al–13Si, Zn–35Al, Zn–35Al–Si, Zn–35Al–3.75Si and Zn–35Al–5.8Si. The wear rates of all materials were tested on a crossed-cylinders wear machine against 440C stainless steel counterface lapped by random abrasion using diamond paste to the desired average surface roughness. The effects of sliding distance on both the worn volume and the coefficient of friction were examined. The aluminum–iron–cerium alloy (Al–8Fe–4Ce) showed the lowest wear rate. The experiments were then extended on this material to examine the effect of varying the applied load and sliding speed on its wear rate. It was found that increasing the applied load increased the wear rate while it was slightly sensitive to the change in sliding speed. As the wear results showed that the Al–8Fe–4Ce alloy has the lowest wear rates, its machinability during turning operation was studied. Statistically-based experimental design (response surface methodology) using central composite second-order rotatable design technique was used to improve the experimentation design without loss of accuracy of the results. The interaction of cutting parameters (cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut) was examined and their effect on the average surface roughness was reported. It was found that employing a combination of high cutting speed and small depth of cut with small feed rate causes a significant reduction in R_a. The data were represented in three-dimensional and contour graphs for selecting the appropriate machining conditions required to achieve desired values of surface roughness.     

柴油机连杆齿形配合面裂纹成因研究

在16V280ZJ型柴油机连杆齿形配合面的动力学分折、接触应力及相对微滑位移值计算的基础上，对连杆材料(调质42CrMo钢)进行了微动试验研究。结果表明，连杆齿形配合面问发生微动，并运行于微动裂纹最易形成的混合区。结合连杆裂纹故障的特征，分折认为连杆齿形失效的根本原因在于接触齿面间复杂的微动疲劳作用加速了裂纹的萌生与扩展，大大降低了连杆使用寿命，并提出了减缓连杆齿形配合面微动疲劳损伤的方案。     

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.     

Behavior of alloy Ti–6Al–4V under pre-fretting and subsequent fatigue conditions

The mechanical behavior and microstructural changes in Ti–6Al–4V were determined in fretting tests, followed by axial fatigue tests. Prior to fatigue testing, specimens were subjected to fretting conditions over a range of contact stresses and fretting displacements. Fretting frequency was 100 Hz. High cycle fatigue (HCF) tests were run at 1000 Hz. The fretting test involved a flat-on-flat, bare Ti–6Al–4V/bare Ti–6Al–4V fretting system. The fretting process typically generated very shallow surface cracks at the ends of the wear scar. Subsequently, these shallow cracks were observed to propagate in axial fatigue tests, reducing the fatigue life significantly. Evidence of frictional heating during fretting was observed in the formation of scale-like oxide in the wear scar. Formation of oxides appeared to increase with increasing contact stress. Increased oxygen content was detected in the near surface regions of specimens. Large near surface deformation was typically observed within the wear scar. The contact geometry and slight tilting of the stationary fretting pad influenced the character of the fretting scar and the fretting-induced cracking. Fracture surfaces exhibited featureless, battered surfaces at the crack origins followed by (a) cleavage-type crack propagation, (b) formation of fatigue striations, and (c) final ductile tearing.     

Effect of the third-body particles on the tool–chip contact and tool-wear behaviour during dry cutting of aeronautical titanium alloys

In machining process, a major limitation of the tool life is due to wear phenomena that occur at the tool–chip interface. Wear influences the surface quality and dimensional accuracy of the finished product by degrading the shape and efficiency of the tool cutting edge. The basic mechanisms of wear are controlled by the mechanical and physico-chemical properties of the tool and workpiece materials. The cutting conditions such as the cutting speed, the feed rate, and the tool geometry also have an important effect on the tool-wear behaviour. Several basic causes of tool wear have been previously investigated; some of the most important are: abrasion and adhesion wear. During the chip formation, particles are removed from the tool and/or the chip surface and are carried away by the flow of the work material along the contact. It is very hard to understand physical phenomena at the tool–chip interface using only experimental means since the contact between the tool and the machined material occurs under extreme mechanical and thermal loading. The situation is more complicated by the presence of the third body, which generates different wear mechanisms.In the present work, the discrete element method (DEM) based on molecular dynamics is used as a helpful tool to understand the behaviour of the third-body particles and their interactions with the tool and workpiece materials in the contact. Both tool and chip materials are defined as discrete particles connected by solid joints. The tool material (first body) is assumed to be degradable granular material and flows along the second material under a combination of pressure and sliding velocity. A parametric study on the transient phenomenon of the tool degradation has been carried out according to the contact conditions, which strongly depend on the machining parameters. The results show that the tribological parameters can be qualitatively evaluated by conducting both calibration–cutting experiments and DEM simulations.     

Tribological properties of pressureless sintered advanced alumina matrix ceramic materials improved by Al–Ti–B and diopside

Al–Ti–B master alloys and diopside were incorporated into alumina matrix and advanced alumina matrix ceramic materials were fabricated by pressureless sintering technology. The mechanical properties of this new composite as well as its wear behaviours, coupled with carbon steel ring in unlubricated conditions at room temperature, were investigated systemically. SEM technology was adopted to observe the worn surfaces of specimens and wear mechanisms were simultaneously discussed. Analysis of the experimental data and observations on the worn surfaces revealed that the improvement in the wear resistance of the composites might be attributed mainly to the strong toughening effect due to the introduction of Al–Ti–B master alloys and diopside in the alumina matrix.     

Effects of Material Composition and Microstructural Features on Dry Sliding Wear Behaviour of Fe–TiC Composite and a Cobalt-Based Stellite

This investigation deals with the influence of hardfacing En31 steel separately with Fe–TiC composite and commercial cobalt base (stellite 6) material on their sliding wear behaviour at 2.94 m/s speed and varying applied pressures. Wear response of the samples was substantiated through the scanning electron microscopic studies of the wear surfaces, subsurface regions and debris particles. The hardfaced samples revealed superior wear performance than that of the substrate. Further, the steel hardfaced with cobalt-based stellite offered higher wear resistance over the one overlayed with Fe–TiC composite. The applied pressure controlled the wear behaviour (rate) in a complex manner and its influence was dependent on material composition/microconstituents and test conditions. The friction coefficient got reduced with pressure except in the case of the Fe–TiC composite overlay beyond 2 MPa. The hardfaced samples were noted to be better suited for more severe conditions. Microcracking was quite frequently observed on wear surfaces of the hardfaced material especially under mild wear conditions. Sticking of fine debris particles on to the specimen surface was also observed.     

Improving the performance of a proportional 4/3 water–hydraulic valve by using a diamond-like-carbon coating

Today, there are several water–hydraulic, power-control systems already available on the market. Their components are usually made of stainless steel, which ensures satisfactory performance under mild, conventional operating conditions. However, for more demanding operating conditions and long-term, low-friction and low-wear performance, they do not provide the required performance. One of the possible ways to improve the performance of stainless-steel components in water–hydraulic systems is to coat them with diamond-like carbon (DLC), since this material is well known for its excellent low-friction and low-wear characteristics and also provides very good performance under water-lubrication conditions. In this study, real-scale lifetime tests with 2.3 million cycles were performed on a hydraulic test rig with a proportional 4/3 directional control water–hydraulic valve. Two types of contacts in the valve were tested: the steel-spool/steel-sleeve and the DLC-spool/steel-sleeve. The wear behaviour of the valve was evaluated with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and internal leakage measurements. In the real-scale lifetime tests the wear and the damage on the DLC-coated spool were significantly lower than on the steel spool. Furthermore, in agreement with this, the internal leakage in the DLC-spool/steel-sleeve valve was almost constant throughout the tests, while in the steel-spool/steel-sleeve valve the leakage slowly, but steadily, increased. The steel/steel and DLC/steel contacts were also separately evaluated in pin-on-disc model tribological tests under water-lubricated conditions for a comparison and for a better understanding of the tribological mechanisms. In agreement with the real-scale tests, the DLC/steel contact showed improved friction and wear performance in comparison with the steel/steel contact.     

Tribology of titanium boride-coated titanium balls against alumina ceramic: Wear, friction, and micromechanisms

The tribological performance of titanium alloy (Ti–6Al–4V) balls coated with a dual boride layer comprised of titanium diboride (TiB₂) and titanium boride (TiB) whiskers mated against alumina ceramic disks has been determined using lubricated ball-on-disk wear testing. Measurements of coefficient of friction values and volumetric wear were made and electron microscopic investigation of wear spots and tracks was performed. The wear rate of the boride-coated titanium alloy balls was 40 times less than that of 97% dense alumina balls. Measurements of wear track width and depth corroborated this result. The superior wear resistance is attributed to the hardness and the unique structure of the dual (TiB₂ + TiB) whisker layer and the consequent smoothness of the wear surface created during the wear process. The material removal mechanism is abrasive in nature in the boride-coated balls compared to grain fracture and pullout in alumina.     

Fretting wear of thin steel wires. Part 2: Influence of crossing angle

The wear behaviour of thin steel wires has been analyzed under oscillating sliding conditions in crossed cylinders contact geometry. The focus of this analysis was the influence of the crossing angle between the wires on the wear. The wires used had 0.45 mm in diameter and the material was cold-drawn eutectoid carbon steel (0.8% C) with a tensile strength higher than 2800 MPa. Two different types of tests were carried out, the first one representing the influence of the crossing angle for a constant load and the second one representing the influence of the crossing angle with constant contact pressure. In the first type of tests it was seen that as the contact angle decreases the contact pressure decreases too and hence less energy specific wear resistance is observed. As a consequence less wear is produced, thus increasing the life of the wires. In the second type of tests it was seen that with constant contact pressure but different crossing angles, nearly the same energy specific wear resistance was observed. This points at an identical wear behaviour in both type of tests but with a running-in and a steady state period as two different wear periods. The tests showed that the running in period may play an important role in the overall wear particle generation and hence the wear occurring in the steady state period is rather mild.     

Unlubricated gross slip fretting wear of metallic plasma-sprayed coatings for Ti6Al4V surfaces

Plasma-sprayed Al–bronze or CuNiIn coatings are often applied to protect against fretting wear and extend the operational life of Ti-alloy compressor blades in turbine engines. In order to develop a fundamental understanding of how these coating systems perform under gross slip fretting conditions, bench level fretting wear tests were conducted at room temperature to simulate cold engine startup. Alternative coatings such as plasma-sprayed molybdenum and nickel were also evaluated because of their potential for reducing fretting wear under certain simulated engine conditions. The combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), surface profilometry, surface chemistry (EDS), and friction analysis were used to study coating performance and evaluate the interfacial wear mechanisms. In this study, it was determined that all coatings caused significant damage to the mating Ti6Al4V surfaces and that the wear mechanisms were all similar to those of the uncoated baseline case.     

Dry sliding wear behaviour of cast high strength aluminium alloy (Al–Zn–Mg) and hard particle composites

This paper describes the results of dry sliding wear tests of aluminium alloy (Al–Zn–Mg) and aluminium (Al–Zn–Mg)–10, 15 and 25 wt.% SiCp composite was examined under varying applied pressure (0.2 to 2.0 MPa) at a fixed sliding speed of 3.35 m/s. The sliding wear behaviour was studied using pin-on-disc apparatus against EN32 steel counter surface, giving emphasis on the parameters such as coefficient of friction, rise in temperature, wear and seizure resistance as a function of sliding distance and applied pressure. It was observed that the wear rate of the alloy was noted to be significantly higher than that of the composite and is suppressed further due to addition of silicon carbide particles. The temperature rise near the contacting surfaces and the coefficient of friction followed reversed trend. Detailed studies of wear surfaces and subsurface deformation have been carried out. The wear mechanism was studied through worn surfaces and microscopic examination of the developed wear tracks. The wear mechanism strongly dictated by the formation and stability of oxide layer, mechanically mixed layer (MML) and subsurface deformation and cracking. The overall results indicate that the aluminium alloy–silicon carbide particle composite could be considered as an excellent material where high strength and wear resistance are of prime importance.     

Characterization of fretting wear behavior of Cu–Al coating on Ti–6Al–4V substrate

Fretting wear and fretting fatigue are two commonly observed material damages when two contacting bodies with a clamping load are under the oscillatory motion. In this study, fretting wear damage of Cu–Al coating on titanium alloy, Ti–6Al–4V substrate was investigated using the dissipated energy approach. Fretting tests were conducted with either no fatigue load or the maximum fatigue load of 300 MPa and stress ratio of 0.1 on the substrate (specimen). In order to investigate the effect of contact load and contact size, different pad sizes and contact loads were used in the tests. Accumulated dissipated energy versus wear volume data showed a linear relationship regardless of fatigue loading condition on specimen with the smaller pad size. However, two separate linear relationships were observed based on the fatigue loading condition with the larger pad size, such that a relatively more dissipated energy was required for a certain amount of wear with fatigue load on the specimen. The linear relationship between the accumulated dissipated energy and wear volume for both pad sizes extended from partial to gross slip regimes and was not affected by the applied contact load. Further, fretting tests with and without fatigue load resulted in different shapes of fretting loops when the larger pad size was used.     

Wear behaviour of some low alloyed steels under combined impact/abrasion contact conditions

The wear behaviour of some low alloyed steels has been investigated using a laboratory impeller–tumbler wear test equipment in which the steel samples are worn by angular granite particles under combined impact/abrasion wear contact conditions. The wear of the steels was evaluated by weight loss of the steel samples while the wear mechanisms of the steels were investigated by post-test light optical microscopy (LOM), scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The worn steel surfaces display a very rough surface topography with pronounced craters and distinct grooves caused by high and low angle impacts, i.e. abrasive wear, respectively. Besides, fragments of embedded granite particles are frequently observed in the worn surface of the steels. The wear of the steels tends to decrease with increasing steel hardness. However, instead of using the bulk hardness value the hardness of the worn/plastically deformed surface layer should be used when modelling the wear resistance. Further, the wear resistance of the steels was found to be dependent on the microstructure and chemical composition. Steels with similar type of microstructure show a linear decrease in weight loss with decreasing grain size and increasing carbon content.     

连杆动应力及疲劳寿命分析

连杆在发动机中直接与活塞销、曲轴连杆轴颈相连接,它们之间通过弹性接触传递力。所以,活塞销、曲轴连杆轴颈决定了连杆的受力分布情况。采用有限元分析中的接触法对某型号发动机的连杆进行有限元分析,得出接触面之间的压力分布情况、连杆的应力分布情况及连杆变形情况,并对连杆的疲劳强度进行校核。     

Tribological properties of flame sprayed Fe–Ni–RE alloy coatings under reciprocating sliding

Fe–Ni–RE self-fluxing alloy powders were flame sprayed onto 1045 carbon steel. The tribological properties of Fe–Ni–RE alloy coatings under dry sliding against SAE52100 steel at ambient conditions were studied on an Optimol SRV oscillating friction and wear tester in a ball-on-disc contact configuration. Effects of load and sliding speed on tribological properties of the Fe–Ni–RE coatings were investigated. The worn surfaces of the Fe–Ni–RE alloy coatings were examined with a scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and an energy-dispersive spectroscopy(EDS). It was found that the Fe–Ni–RE alloy coatings had better wear resistance than the SAE52100 steel. An adhered oxide debris layer was formed on the worn surface in friction. Area of the friction layer varied with variety of sliding speed, but did not vary with load. The oxide layer contributed to decreased wear, but increased friction. Wear rate of the material increased with the load, but dramatically decreased at first and then slightly decreased the sliding speed. The friction coefficient of the material was 0.40-0.58, and decreased slightly with the load, but increased with sliding speed at first, and then tended to be a constant value. Wear mechanism of the coatings was oxidation wear and a large amount of counterpart material was transferred to the coatings.     

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.     

The tribological behavior of Ni–Cu–Ag-based PVD coatings for hybrid bearings under different lubrication conditions

In a cryogenic environment, components like bearings with interacting surfaces in relative motion (tribosystems) often generate undesired heat and experience high wear. Because the properties of conventional bearing materials like stainless steel cannot be applied to this temperature range, the PVD coating based on metal–metal pairs with better frictional properties must be employed. To test the suitability of the Ni–Cu–Ag-based PVD coatings of hybrid bearings for liquid rocket engine turbopumps and to obtain reliable coating material data in the extreme environment, the tribological behaviors of coatings under the cryogenic fluid (liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen) and water lubricated conditions are studied, respectively. In the paper, the specimens are in a vibrocryotribometer with the ball-on-plane contact type, and various running conditions in terms of lubricants, contacting loading, and contacting velocity are examined. The simulated experiment for testing the actual tribological performance of Ni–Cu–Ag-based PVD coatings for hybrid bearings is tested. The results of the tests indicate that the coatings can be suitable for cryogenic tribosystems of turbopumps. In the cryogenic environment, the volume wear rate of coatings increases rapidly with the contacting loading, but 15 min later, the volume wear volume of coatings turns into 2.5–15×10⁻⁴ mm³. Besides, under the liquid oxygen condition in simulating the liquid rocket engine turbopumps environment, the friction coefficients are 0.03–0.1.     

Spatially resolved nanoscale chemical and mechanical characterization of ZDDP antiwear films on aluminum–silicon alloys under cylinder/bore wear conditions

summary  Understanding the lubrication of aluminum–silicon (Al–Si) alloys (>18 Si) under conditions similar to those in the cylinder/bore system is vital to determining their applicability to current engine designs. A novel investigation of the location of zinc-dialkyl-dithiophosphate (ZDDPs) antiwear (AW) film formation on an Al–Si alloy has been performed using X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) analysis, X-ray photoelectron emission spectroscopy (X-PEEM), and imaging nanoindentation techniques. A study of the initial stages of wear (10 min) to prolonged rubbing (60 min) was performed. The findings show that the film forms primarily on the raised silicon grains and is consistent with a zinc polyphosphate glass. The film has an elastic modulus of ~70 GPa and a similar elastic response to a ZDDP AW film formed on steel under the same conditions. This provides the first direct observation and characterization of a ZDDP antiwear film on Al–Si alloys using spatially resolved chemical and mechanical techniques at the nanoscale.