Radial fretting fatigue damage of surface coatings

Radial fretting tests with a 52100 steel ball-on-flat contact have been carried out under different normal loads. TiN, MoS₂ and TiN+MoS₂ coatings on a 1045 steel flat were examined. The normal loads amplitude used were 200, 400 and 800 N at speeds of 12 and 1.2 mm/min. Dynamic analysis in combination with microscopic examinations by SEM and EDX have been performed. It was observed that the vertical stiffness increased with the increase of loading speed and number of cycles. The metallographic examinations showed that little damage was observed for the MoS₂ coating, which exhibited excellent radial fretting fatigue resistance. For the TiN coating, micro-cracks appeared at the lower load while delamination occurred at the higher load. For the TiN+MoS₂ composite coating, the vertical stiffness increased but accompanied by some micro-cracks. As a result of the study, the radial fretting test is proposed as one possible new method to evaluate coating life.