Impact Wear Study of Lubricated Contacts

Pivotal hammer type impact testers are used in an experimental study of repetitively impacted lubricated contacts. Various steels are used in one- and two-body wear modes; the rate process of wear is investigated with respect to the impact parameters (normal and tangential approach velocity), and lubricant viscosity. For normal impact, a boundary lubrication system forms, but superimposed sliding speeds with a viscous lubricant tend to create an elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) condition, greatly resisting wear. Approximate measurable wear equations are derived for cylindrical striking surfaces.