The fretting wear of Ti-6Al-4v and aged inconel 718 at elevated temperatures

The fretting wear of Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 718 was investigated with a sphere-on-flat configuration. The spherical surface was 100 mm in radius and in all tests was made of the same material as the flat. The normal load was 2.75 N and the frequency of the tangential movement was 50 Hz. Two amplitudes of slip were used, 10 and 40 μm. Tests were conducted in air at temperatures up to 600 °C for the titanium alloy and up to 540 °C for the nickel alloy. High temperature strain gauges enabled a continuous record of the tangential stress to be made and subsequent calculation of the coefficient of friction. Wear was assessed from measurement of the scar volume. At 280 and 540 °C at an amplitude of 40 μm the coefficient of friction and wear rate decreased to a low value on the nickel alloy. This only occurred at 540 °C for the lower amplitude of slip. Low friction and wear are associated with the formation of a “glaze” oxide, which requires a larger slip amplitude at lower temperatures for its formation.The titanium alloy generally exhibited higher coefficients of friction which continued to increase at 10⁶ cycles, although wear rates at 200 °C and above were comparable with those on the nickel alloy. “Glaze” oxide begins to form at 200 °C and is well developed at 400 °C. At 600 °C breakdown occurs owing to local creep of the substrate.