This project was performed together with ÅF Industry AB in Trollhättan, Sweden. ÅF’s expertise in Trollhättan is oriented towards the automotive industry. It was conducted within the section of CAE and safety where they, for instance, dimension bolt joints in the cars. Bolt joints play an important role in the automotive industry. Slip critical bolt joints are used widely throughout the vehicles. With lack of good test data, the bolt joints need to be dimensioned conservatively. This may lead to that bolt joints are over-dimensioned, adding more mass to the car. On the contrary, the availability of reliable test data enables designers to optimize joint dimensions to achieve a safe design with minimized mass. A mechanical testing configuration has been designed as well as a testing procedure for a test to determine the static friction value between mating surfaces in bolt joints. The testing configuration has been used to perform tests to find the static friction coefficient in different materials. The study contains varied combinations of steel, aluminium and ED-Coated steel. The study resulted in tables with levels of probability. The developed test configuration is robust and relatively simple to use and is recommended for further use. For improved statistical significance, it was noted that more samples should be used than was used in this study. The aluminium has a smoother surface finish and that could be the reason why its coefficient of friction is lower than steel. It is therefore considered important to also include surface roughness when presenting coefficient of friction results.

A new scratch test methodology is proposed. The new test methodology is developed based on the principles of materials science and solid mechanics, which include the consideration of material parameters, use of microscopy for image analysis and the finite element method (FEM). The consistency and reproducibility of test results are shown using a new scratch test device on two sets of neat and talcfilled polypropylene (PP) systems. Three different test conditions, i.e., linear load increase under constant rate, constant load under constant rate, and linear rate increase under constant load, have been conducted to determine the most effective, informative test conditions for evaluation of scratch resistance of polymers. Experimental observations and FEM results show a good qualitative correlation. The unique advantages of the new scratch test method for evaluating scratch resistance of polymers are discussed. A systematic study of surface damage effected by a progressive scratching load is performed on model polypropylene (PP) systems. Mar-scratch and stress -whitening transitions can be readily observed, and the corresponding critical loads determined. Distinctive scratch hardnesses and surface damage features are found for different material systems. Visibility of scratched surface is quantified using gray level analysis via a flatbed scanner and a commercial image analysis tool. It is found that the onset of scratch visibility can be determined accurately and reproducibly using the custom -built scratcher under progressive loading condition. Talc particles are found to be responsible for the increased light scattering, leading to greatly increased visibility. The observed scratch visibility is also found to be related to the measured frictional force profiles. Approaches for producing scratch resistant PP are discussed.

As the superparamagnetic limit is reached, the magnetic storage industry looks to circumvent the barrier by implementing patterned media (PM) as a viable means to store and access data. Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is a semiconductor fabrication technique used to planarize surfaces and is investigated as a method to ensure that the PM is polished to surface roughness parameters that allow the magnetic read/write head to move seamlessly across the PM. Results from this research have implications in feasibility studies of utilizing CMP as the main planarization technique for PM fabrication. Benchmark data on the output parameters of the CMP process, for bit patterned media (BPM), based on the machine process parameters, pad properties, and slurry characteristics are optimized. The research was conducted in a systematic manner in which the optimized parameters for each phase are utilized in future phases. The optimum results from each of the phases provide an overall optimum characterization for BPM CMP. Results on the CMP machine input parameters indicate that for optimal surface roughness and material removal, low polish pressures and high velocities should be used on the BPM. Pad characteristics were monitored by non destructive technique and results indicate much faster deterioration of all pad characteristics versus polish time of BPM when compared to IC CMP. The optimum pad for PM polishing was the IC 1400 dual layer Suba V pad with a shore hardness of 57, and a k-groove pattern. The final phase of polishing evaluated the slurry polishing properties and novel nanodiamond (ND) slurry was created and benchmarked on BPM. The resulting CMP output parameters were monitored and neither the ND slurry nor the thermally responsive polymer slurry performed better than the commercially available Cabot iCue slurry for MRR or surface roughness. Research results indicate CMP is a feasible planarization technique for PM fabrication, but successful implementation of CMP for planarizing PM must address the high initial start up cost, increase in the number of replacement pads, and increase in polishing time to reach the required surface roughness for magnetic storage devices.

Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) is one of the most critical processing steps that enables fabrication of multilevel interconnects. The success of CMP process is limited by the implementation of an optimized process and reduction of process generated defects along with post CMP surface characteristics such as dishing and erosion. This thesis investigates to identify various sources of defects and studies the effect of factors that can be used to optimize the process. The major contributions of this work are: Understanding the effect of temperature rise on surface tribology, electrochemistry and post CMP pattern effects during the CMP process; investigating the effect of pad conditioning temperature and slurry flow rate on tribology and post CMP characteristics; development of novel slurries using polymer hybrid particles and improvement in slurry metrology to reduce surface damage during CMP. From the current research, it was shown that the effect of temperature on CMP tribology is predominantly affected by the polishing parameters and the polishing pad characteristics more than the chemical nature of the slurry. The effect of temperature is minimal on the resulting surface roughness but the with-in die non-uniformity is significantly affected by the temperature at the interface. Secondly, in this research it was shown that the effectiveness and aggressiveness of the pad conditioning process is highly influenced by the conditioning temperature. This aspect can be utilized to optimize the parameters for the pad conditioning process. Further, post CMP characteristics such as dishing, erosion and metal loss on patterned samples were shown to decrease with increase in slurry flow rate. This research then concentrates on the development of novel low defect slurry using polymer hybrid abrasive particles. Several varieties of surface functionalized polymer particles were employed to make oxide CMP slurries. These novel slurries proved to be potential candidates to reduce surface damage during CMP as they resulted in low coefficient of friction and much less surface scratches as compared to conventional abrasives. Thus, this research helps to reduce defects and non-planarity issues during CMP process thereby improving yield and reducing the cost of ownership.

This thesis deals with the experimental description of friction between steel and wood materials, specifically laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and pine wood with two types of annual rings. It studies the influence of a number of different parameters on the coefficient of friction such as contact pressure, moisture content, fiber orientation in relation to the load direction, steel surface roughness, and horizontal load rate. First, the theoretical mechanical and physical properties as well as the coefficient of friction itself are described. This is followed by the description of the test setup including the test method and how the obtained data is exported, handled and processed and how the coefficient of friction is determined. The results study the influence of different parameters and show that the coefficients of friction for the smooth sliding plate tests vary in between 0.1 and 0.3, whereas tests with the rough sliding plate vary around 0.7. Factors influencing the coefficient of friction were found to be the different moisture content under all tested pressures, the different fiber direction under low contact pressure, the contact pressure itself, though under higher pressures the influence was found to be low, and the horizontal load rate under low pressures. The outcomes are further discussed in the discussion chapter.

Over the years, numerous studies have been conducted for the development of alternative materials for better performance of brake pads. With a huge selection of materials, automobile manufacturers must prioritize the performance standards, safety, cost and environmental factors of the brake pads. To improve the friction performance of brake pads, maintain customers comfort level and environment safety, design engineers test and verify the best materials to satisfy the federal performance standards. Raw materials of brake pads compose of different categories such as organic, semi metallic and low-metallic. Besides the difference in composition, these materials affect the brake pads in terms of friction properties, wear rates and noise levels. It is crucial for engineers and manufacturers to improve friction stability while minimizing vibration by manipulating the composition of different raw materials and additive materials. Automotive brake pads normally consist of numerous metallic and composite materials that are formed by hot compression which can result in various mechanical properties [14]. This research proposes to investigate different composition of metallic raw materials and how their frictional performance is affected under different environmental testing standards. This research investigates the frictional performance of six types of raw materials with different mechanical properties and morphology using a universal mechanical tester (Bruker UMT). This paper examines the overall friction performance, coefficient of friction and creep groan behavior of six different raw materials under different humidity levels. By scrutinizing the static and kinetic coefficient of friction(COF) at different humidity levels, humidity-induced friction instability at low speed is studied and presented in this paper. After performing friction tests for each material, it was concluded that the friction performance and kinetic coefficient of friction of the brake pad samples were drastically affected by longer exposure to humid air.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-02-09Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:22:32Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 marins_nms_dr_guara.pdf: 1433472 bytes, checksum: cedcb76a6d8c4184098e03ae116ba45c (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Filmes finos de carbono amorfo hidrogenado (a-C:H) e fluorados (a-C:H:F) foram depositados a partir de plasmas de misturas de acetileno/argônio e acetileno/argônio/hexafluoreto de enxofre. Para a primeira mistura de gases, o plasma foi mantido por 5 e 10 minutos a uma pressão de 9,5 Pa (30% C2H2 e 70% Ar) enquanto para a segunda ele foi mantido por 5 minutos utilizando-se 30% C2H2, 65% Ar e 5% SF6 a uma pressão total de 9,5 Pa. A potência do sinal de excitação foi variada de 5 a 125 W e o efeito deste parâmetro nas propriedades do filme foi investigado. De modo a fluorar os filmes obtidos a partir da mistura acetileno/argônio estes foram submetidos, imediatamente após a deposição e sem exposição ao ar atmosférico, a tratamentos em plasmas de SF6. Tais procedimentos foram conduzidos durante 5 minutos utilizando-se uma fonte de rádiofrequência (13,56 MHz, 70 W) a uma pressão total de 13,3 Pa. Foram utilizadas as técnicas de espectroscopia Raman e espectroscopia de fotoelétrons – XPS para investigar as respectivas microestruturas e composições químicas das amostras. A dureza e o coeficiente de atrito dos filmes foram determinados pelas técnicas de nanoindentação e tribometria, respectivamente. A receptividade das amostras à água foi analisada através de dados de ângulo de contato e a rugosidade foi determinada por interferometria ótica. Os filmes de a-C:H obtidos a partir de plasmas de C2H2 e Ar em potências mais baixas (5 e 25 W) apresentaram estruturas e composições de natureza polimérica, enquanto os preparados em potências intermediárias (50 e 75 W) apresentaram maiores proporções de ligações de carbono tetraédricos e baixo teor de hidrogênio, indicando uma estrutura do tipo DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon). Os filmes depositados com as potências mais elevadas (100 e 125 W) apresentaram estrutura do tipo grafitica... / Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) and fluorinated (a-C:H:F) thin films were deposited from acetylene/argon and acetylene/argon/sulfur hexafluoride mixtures. For the first gas mixture, the plasma was kept for 5 or 10 minutes using 9.5 Pa of pressure (30% C2H2 e 70% Ar) while for the second it was kept for 5 minutes using 30% C2H2, 65% Ar e 5% SF6 at a total pressure of 9.5 Pa. The power of the excitation signal was changed from 5 to 125 W and the effect of such parameter on the properties of the films was investigated. To fluorinate the a-C:H films they were submitted, immediately after deposition and without exposure to atmosphere, to SF6 plasma treatments. Such procedures were conducted for 5 minutes in radiofrequency (13.56 MHz, 70 W) plasmas of 13.3 Pa of pressure. Raman and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopes were employed to investigate, respectively, the microstructure and chemical composition of the films. Film hardness and friction coefficient were determined from nanoindentation and tribometry techniques, respectively. The receptivity of the samples towards water was evaluated through contact angle data and roughness was measured by optical interferometry. The a-C:H films obtained from the C2H2 and Ar plasma mixtures in lower power (5 e 25 W) presented polymer-like structures and compositions while those prepared using intermediary power levels ( 50 e 75 W) presented higher proportions of tetrahedral carbon bonds and low proportions of hydrogen, suggesting a Diamond like Carbon (DLC) structure. Films deposited using the higher power (100 e 125 W) plasmas presented a graphitic structure. As the material prepared with lower power signals were submitted to the SF6 post deposition treatment, surface chemical composition was changed but the polymeric nature of the films was kept. The graphitic nature of the films synthesized in the higher power regime was intensified after... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Resumo: Filmes finos de carbono amorfo hidrogenado (a-C:H) e fluorados (a-C:H:F) foram depositados a partir de plasmas de misturas de acetileno/argônio e acetileno/argônio/hexafluoreto de enxofre. Para a primeira mistura de gases, o plasma foi mantido por 5 e 10 minutos a uma pressão de 9,5 Pa (30% C2H2 e 70% Ar) enquanto para a segunda ele foi mantido por 5 minutos utilizando-se 30% C2H2, 65% Ar e 5% SF6 a uma pressão total de 9,5 Pa. A potência do sinal de excitação foi variada de 5 a 125 W e o efeito deste parâmetro nas propriedades do filme foi investigado. De modo a fluorar os filmes obtidos a partir da mistura acetileno/argônio estes foram submetidos, imediatamente após a deposição e sem exposição ao ar atmosférico, a tratamentos em plasmas de SF6. Tais procedimentos foram conduzidos durante 5 minutos utilizando-se uma fonte de rádiofrequência (13,56 MHz, 70 W) a uma pressão total de 13,3 Pa. Foram utilizadas as técnicas de espectroscopia Raman e espectroscopia de fotoelétrons - XPS para investigar as respectivas microestruturas e composições químicas das amostras. A dureza e o coeficiente de atrito dos filmes foram determinados pelas técnicas de nanoindentação e tribometria, respectivamente. A receptividade das amostras à água foi analisada através de dados de ângulo de contato e a rugosidade foi determinada por interferometria ótica. Os filmes de a-C:H obtidos a partir de plasmas de C2H2 e Ar em potências mais baixas (5 e 25 W) apresentaram estruturas e composições de natureza polimérica, enquanto os preparados em potências intermediárias (50 e 75 W) apresentaram maiores proporções de ligações de carbono tetraédricos e baixo teor de hidrogênio, indicando uma estrutura do tipo DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon). Os filmes depositados com as potências mais elevadas (100 e 125 W) apresentaram estrutura do tipo grafitica... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / ABSTRACT: Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) and fluorinated (a-C:H:F) thin films were deposited from acetylene/argon and acetylene/argon/sulfur hexafluoride mixtures. For the first gas mixture, the plasma was kept for 5 or 10 minutes using 9.5 Pa of pressure (30% C2H2 e 70% Ar) while for the second it was kept for 5 minutes using 30% C2H2, 65% Ar e 5% SF6 at a total pressure of 9.5 Pa. The power of the excitation signal was changed from 5 to 125 W and the effect of such parameter on the properties of the films was investigated. To fluorinate the a-C:H films they were submitted, immediately after deposition and without exposure to atmosphere, to SF6 plasma treatments. Such procedures were conducted for 5 minutes in radiofrequency (13.56 MHz, 70 W) plasmas of 13.3 Pa of pressure. Raman and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopes were employed to investigate, respectively, the microstructure and chemical composition of the films. Film hardness and friction coefficient were determined from nanoindentation and tribometry techniques, respectively. The receptivity of the samples towards water was evaluated through contact angle data and roughness was measured by optical interferometry. The a-C:H films obtained from the C2H2 and Ar plasma mixtures in lower power (5 e 25 W) presented polymer-like structures and compositions while those prepared using intermediary power levels ( 50 e 75 W) presented higher proportions of tetrahedral carbon bonds and low proportions of hydrogen, suggesting a Diamond like Carbon (DLC) structure. Films deposited using the higher power (100 e 125 W) plasmas presented a graphitic structure. As the material prepared with lower power signals were submitted to the SF6 post deposition treatment, surface chemical composition was changed but the polymeric nature of the films was kept. The graphitic nature of the films synthesized in the higher power regime was intensified after... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Orientadora: Elidiane Cipriano Rangel / Coorientador: Rogério Pinto Mota / Banca: Konstantin Georgiev Kostov / Banca: Mauríco Antonio Algatti / Banca: Jonny Vilcarromero Lopez / Banca: Pedro Augusto de Paula nascente / Doutor

Simultaneous measurement of electrical contact resistance (ECR) and coefficient of friction (COF) at the sliding interface is essential to assess the performance of selected material contact pairs for the transfer of current from stationary member to moving member (or vice-versa). Low and stable values of ECR and COF are desirable during the intended operating life of the contact members. These parameters may change with respect to time as a consequence of change in the surface properties of contact members due to their relative movement. Hence experimental investigations have been conducted to study the variation of ECR and COF while different riders sliding on copper and brass flat samples in different environments. As a part of the experimental investigation, a reciprocating sliding setup is designed and developed to study the variation of ECR and COF in terms of normal force, sliding speed, current and environment. The details of the experimental setup are described along with its construction and operation. The sample preparation, instrumentation, data acquisition and presentation are explained in detail. The variations of ECR and COF at different normal forces, currents and sliding speeds by moving OFHC copper, brass, silver, Ag10Cu and Ag20Cu riders on OFHC copper and brass flat samples in vacuum, argon, nitrogen and air are studied in detail. Studies are also conducted to evaluate the performance of metallic contacts under lubricated condition using general purpose lubricating oils of different viscosity. Metallic contacts show a decrease in ECR with increase in normal force at all sliding speeds in all media. Sliding metallic contacts show a significant decrease in both ECR and COF during the initial sliding cycles at constant normal force in all media. Surface roughness of flat sample is found to have a significant effect on both ECR and COF in all media. Wear of rider is found to be significant as compared to wear of flat samples. Metallic contacts show an inverse relationship between ECR and COF in all media under mild wear regime (0.2< COF≤ 0.4). ECR and COF of sliding metallic contacts are independent of current (≤ 4A) in mild wear regime in all media. Reasonably low values of ECR and COF are observed for prolonged duration with lubricants having low viscosity. The presence of wear fragments at the sliding zone is found to have significant effect on both ECR and COF in all media. Low values of ECR are observed while copper rider sliding on brass sample as compared to silver rider under same operating conditions. Significant amount of metal transfer is observed with silver based riders sliding on copper and brass flat samples in different media. The present investigations are useful in understanding the contact behaviour of copper and brass flat samples for similar and dissimilar riders sliding on them in various environments.

This master thesis is a part of the project TAČR TREND, which aim is the development of new ingredient for treatment of dry eye syndrome. Developed ingredient is derivative of hyaluronic acid, which is in this thesis compared with native hyaluronic acids and commercial eye drops. Aim of this thesis is to describe rheological and tribological properties of measured samples in terms of viscosity, mucoadhesivity and coefficient of friction. Coefficient of friction was measured on created tribological model of the eye in pin-on-plate configuration which represents physiologically relevant sliding speeds of blinking. Comparison with native hyaluronic acids and commercial products of eye drops showed, that derivative reaches higher values of viscosity, has mucoahesive properties and has low values of coefficient of friction. Those key parameters show that modification of hyaluronic acid is promising way for drug development for dry eye disease.