| Abstract: | To investigate and understand the tribological behaviour of high-frequency tribosystems such as ultrasonic motors, a specific test method is necessary. This work reports on the construction of a test machine to evaluate the friction and wear behaviour of friction materials under ultrasonic fretting conditions, as well as giving some representative experimental results. Hard/soft (steel/polymer) and hard/hard (steel/alumina, alumina/alumina) couples were studied with respect to their application as contact materials in ultrasonic motors. Investigation of friction behaviour at high frequencies showed that friction-induced vibrations lead to friction forces of much lower magnitude than predicted by quasistationary friction coefficients obtained for sliding friction. The wear behaviour is characterised by abrasive, adhesive, fatigue and oxidative mechanisms, depending on the mating materials. For polymeric friction materials, the influence of fibre reinforcement and the incorporation of PTFE as a solid lubricant were evaluated. The presence of PTFE resulted in a strong improvement of both friction and wear behaviour. |
