Mathematical models of contact fatigue

Imperial Users onl

Tribological characteristics of WC-based claddings using a ball-cratering method

Tungsten carbide-based thick coatings are used as wear resistant claddings or surface overlays in industrial applications to counter erosive and/or abrasive wear problems. Three-body abrasive wear behaviour of infiltration brazed tungsten carbide (WC) claddings was investigated using a ball-cratering method, a version with a free ball, with slurry containing 150-300 µm silica sand particles. Three WC claddings tested had different volume fractions and size distribution of carbides that resulted in their different bulk hardness and the matrix was a Ni-Cr based alloy. It was found that the wear rates of all WC claddings were almost constant with testing time or distance travelled by a rotating ball. The wear rates were independent of the slurry delivery rate and did not increase with increasing rotating ball roughness. The wear rates were affected by the material characteristics of WC claddings such as the volume fraction of carbides, directly related to bulk hardness, and carbide size distribution. SEM examination found that three-body rolling wear was a dominating wear mechanism. The softer matrix was worn out preferentially, leaving behind protruding and weakly-supported carbides. Small solid carbides were then dislodged and larger cemented WC/Co carbides were gradually worn out by a combination of microcracking and attrition. The abrasive characteristics of WC claddings in the ball-cratering tests were then compared to the characteristics of nominally identical materials in the standard ASTM G65 and G76 tests, as reported in the literature, and similarities and differences found are reported. Also, the in-field wear mechanisms found in the WC cladding were compared to the mechanisms observed in the ball-cratering tests

Tribology Research in Australia

Australia is a country where the ancient culture of the Aborigines coexists with a modern culture in a young future-orientated multicultural society. Subconsciously, perhaps, this immersion in a situation where ancient problems require innovative new solutions has stirred the creativity and imagination of many Australian researchers in tribology. When compared with other countries of a similar population size, the Australian contribution to tribology is substantial. In this paper major achievements of Australian tribologists are presented

The growth of thin lubricating films of plant oils

The extreme conditions of high pressure and shear imposed in a lubricated sliding contact could influence tribochemical reactions that could occur over long sliding distances and time scales, possibly leading to changes in both friction and film thickness. Experiments conducted with 12 plant oils reveal for the first time, that thin lubricating films of some plant oils can grow to thicknesses much greater than what is predicted from either elastohydrodyamic theory or their adsorbed molecular heights. Some films grew as much as 25 times in thickness (unrefined canola oil), while others remained roughly unchanged (flaxseed and olive oil), or grew slightly and then collapsed during the test (safflower oil). The absence of a loss in film thickness and the viscoelastic-like behavior of the film when speeds are reduced to zero, support the view that polymerization could be the main mechanism of film growth. However, the lack of correlation between the degree of unsaturation and the film growth rate suggests that other mechanisms could also be at work

Computational model of asperity contact for the prediction of mechanical and wear behaviour in total joint replacements

The effect of sliding friction on the size of yielding region in the ultra high molecular weight polyethylene asperity in contact with metal was investigated. The main objective of this work was to gain an understanding of wear particle generation mechanism from the two-dimensional finite element model. To assess the influence of the parameters of interest, different friction coefficients and loading conditions were used in the numerical simulations. Results from the finite element analysis show that the increase of the yielding region is strongly influenced by the friction coefficient and the rise in the tangential force, which is related to the generation of wear particles. Finite element wear particle generation model, based on strain discontinuities, was therefore proposed. The results obtained in this study can lead to the development of an accurate finite element particle generation model that would be of use in the assessment of an artificial implant performance and their development

Automated classification of wear particles based on their surface texture and shape features

In this study, the automated classification system, developed previously by the authors, was used to classify wear particles. Three kinds of wear particles, fatigue, abrasive and adhesive, were classified. The fatigue wear particles were generated using an FZG back-to-back gear test rig. A pin-on-disk tribometer was used to generate the abrasive and adhesive wear particles. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of wear particles were acquired, forming a database for further analysis. The particle images were divided into three groups or classes, each class representing a different wear mechanism. Each particle class was first examined visually. Next, area, perimeter, convexity and elongation parameters were determined for each class using image analysis software and the parameters were statistically analysed. Each particle class was then assessed using the automated classification system, based on particle surface texture. The results of the automated particle classification were compared to both the visual assessment of particle morphology and the numerical parameter values. The results showed that the texture-based classification system was a more efficient and accurate way of distinguishing between various wear particles than classification based on size and shape of wear particles. It seems that the texture-based classification method developed has great potential to become a very useful tool in the machine condition monitoring industry